


Fools Rush In

by MischiefProlonged



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Drunken Shenanigans, F/M, Falling In Love, Fred Weasley Lives, Friends to Lovers, Healer Hermione Granger, Murder, One Night Stands, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-06-30 09:36:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 85,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19850443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MischiefProlonged/pseuds/MischiefProlonged
Summary: Post war the survivors are trying to establish normalcy in their lives. Each person has their own struggles but two of them find an unexpected connection after spending a night together. But there are repercussions for saving the world, and one of the golden trio is being hunted by someone who didn't exactly appreciate the end results.





	1. Chapter 1

“Fred! George!” The cry came from behind them and both of the red haired Weasley twins looked around until Fred spotted the source of the voice, nudging his twin in the right direction. The small, curly brown haired witch who was jogging towards them had a large smile on her face as she waved. She weaved in and out of people as the train station bustling around them, the steam of the engines obscured their view for a second. 

“Oi! Granger!” Fred yelled out with a grin on his face as their friend approached them. He and George were in France searching out a new location for expansion of their shop. The Diagon Alley location was flourishing to the point where they could either expand or the business would combust from the inside. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined the success that they had gained with their joke shop, from a teenagers dream to one of the most popular shops for witches and wizards in the United Kingdom. Paris seemed to be the next obvious location and the twins had a good laugh at the thought of the prim and proper ladies of Beauxbatons sneaking their products into school. 

Fred heaved his duffel over his shoulder and he and George stepped forward to greet Hermione when she reached them. They both hugged her tightly and she laughed when George lifted her off her feet as he squeezed her. 

“Oh it’s so good to see you!” Hermione exclaimed when she was put back on her feet. “I can’t believe it’s already been three years.”

After the battle at Hogwarts, Hermione had taken her N.E.W.T.S. and moved to Paris to start her training as a healer. Given her family’s many vacations to the country, it seemed like the best place for her to escape to after the ordeals they had gone through during the war. For the most part she loved it but she had felt somewhat isolated in the large city, separated from her friends and surrogate family; the Weasleys. But she also reveled in the isolation, exploring more of the world and finding herself as an individual. However she did miss her friends dearly and when George had contacted her about possibly staying with her while they searched out a location for their new store, she had felt more excited than she had expected. 

“See Paris is treating you well.” Fred said, appraising her. She looked quite different from their school years; her dark curly hair was cut just above her shoulders and bounced as she moved, the dark green shirt she was wearing hugged her slim figure and she had rolled up the sleeves of the loose grey cardigan she wore. 

“And I see being crazy successful business owners suits you both. How’s it been being mature enough to start an empire?” She asked with a grin at the red heads. 

“Oh please Hermione, it’s our lack of maturity that makes us successful.” Fred asked with a wink. 

She rolled her eyes at him and tucked her hair behind one of her ears. “I’ve a taxi waiting outside if you’ve got everything?” 

Having wanted the muggle experience, Fred and George had opted for non-magic travel, which Hermione appreciated as her apartment was in the muggle portion of the city. While she spent every day in the magical community, it felt nice to escape once and a while. They weaved their way through the crowd to the sunny street outside, finding the small car that Hermione had waiting for them. George raised his eyes at the tiny back seat and looked over at Hermione. 

“Going to sit on my lap Granger?” 

Hermione smirked at him, “As appealing as that sounds George, I think I’ll sit in the front.” 

Disappointed, they loaded up their luggage into the boot of the car and squished into their seats. The driver asked Hermione something in French and she easily replied, laughing slightly at whatever the young man had said. 

She turned towards them in her seat, “Watch out the left side, we’ll be going past the Eiffel tower.” 

\-- 

They were thoroughly impressed by their drive-by of the landmark and were discussing all of the themed products they could make at the new location when they pulled up in front of Hermione’s building. The building itself was old with antique looking brick façade. There were vines creeping up the building and the heavy door swung open easily as they passed through into a brightly lit lobby. Hermione led them up the winding staircase, going up three flights before stepping off onto a landing and down a short hallway to the door of her apartment. From the outside of the building, the twins had expected the space to be old and cramped, but they were pleasantly surprised by the airy apartment they walked into. The entry way flowed into an open conjoined kitchen and living area, large windows let in the bright light from outside and sunshine fell across the plush grey furniture in the living room. The cabinets of the kitchen and the molding around the high ceiling eluded to the age of the building with intricate details carved in. The exposed brick wall along the far side of the room was 

Hermione slipped off her shoes and gestured them further into the apartment. “So there is a guest bedroom down the hall to the left, it’s not large but I’ve managed two beds in the space. Bathroom is right next door to that and then my room is at the very end of the hall. Otherwise please feel free to make yourself at home. I’ve actually put food in the fridge so anything there is up for grabs.” She looked around trying to think of anything else she could tell them. 

With her extensive training schedule, she really wasn’t ever home long enough to enjoy the place that she had lived in for two years. The space was both cozy and large, making her feel somewhat lonely at times. Over the next few weeks of them being here, she had managed to get some days off to spend with them and was looking forward to some company. She had made several friends in Paris but she did miss home quite a bit. 

They settled their bags in the room Hermione had set up for them, finding that the space was plenty big enough; almost twice the size of their shared bedroom at the Burrow. Returning to the kitchen they found Hermione flipping through a book on the counter. 

“Good to see not much has changed.” George said with a slight laugh. He remembered their Hogwarts days where, if Hermione Granger didn’t have her nose buried in a book, then something was wrong. He leaned across the counter and found that the book she was reading had extensive diagrams of what appeared to be human internal organs. 

“Planning to dissect us in our sleep?” He turned to his twin, “I told you we weren’t safe here Fred.” 

Hermione laughed at their feigned expressions of fear, “I suppose the cadavers we practice on are quite a bit less lively than you two. But sadly no, I’ve got my last round of exams in a few day. Which unfortunately means I won’t be around much until Friday.” 

The twins had initially felt bad about scheduling their trips during her exams but Hermione had reassured them that she was well prepared as she had been studying for the past year or so, a few more days wouldn’t make much difference in her words. It was nice for them though as they were able to scout out some locations on their own before Hermione had more free time to join them. George was staying for two weeks and then if they didn’t find anything in that time frame, Fred would stay on for a bit. 

“So,” Hermione began, looking between the two of them. “I know a great restaurant nearby that has some choices I think you’ll enjoy.” 

The look she was giving them was one they had seen on their own faces many times while planning some mischief. They ended up walking a few blocks to a small restaurant with the owner who greeted Hermione by name with a kiss on her cheek. They sat down and Hermione ordered for them in French, making both twins wish they had some other working knowledge of foreign languages. 

Their meals finally came out and they both laughed at the small snails that adorned their plates, nestled within squeaky arms of small octopi. Hermione grinned over the edge of her wine glass as the red heads took their first bites, George tried to cover up the look of dislike on his face while Fred immediately popped another into his mouth, surprisingly enjoying them. The owner laughed at George’s face and returned to the kitchen for a replacement dish, having been warned that the weak British stomachs may not be able to handle such exotic cuisine. Hermione had conveniently ordered a pasta dish with bright red tomatoes scattered throughout the noodles, she had had her fair share of the local delicacies and had learned quite quickly that she did not enjoy them. 

After a few hours they were still sitting around the table, laughing and feeling the buzz of the wine the owner kept bringing them. 

Fred laughed as the portly gentleman filled their glasses for what seemed like the hundredth times. “How’d you end up at this place Hermione?” He asked looking around the cozy restaurant and large set of doors that opened up to the street, allowing a pleasant warm breeze to sweep over them. They were the only patrons in the place as it was later in the evening. 

She laughed a little and took a small sip of the tart liquid, “I actually got lost one of my first weeks here. I couldn’t find my way back to the apartment and it was raining so Gael pulled me in and gave me bread and wine until I was quite snockered.” She grinned at the memory of sitting at a table in the empty restaurant, drunkedly laughing with the portly man. Since then she had come here at least once a week to eat or simply visit. 

Gael was a widower who had lost his wife Lissette a few years back. At 70 years old his children were all grown and scattered about Europe, leaving their father behind with the restaurant he had run since his twenties. Hermione had found a kinship with him with her own parents never having been recovered from Australia after her memory charm. It seemed that she was accumulating surrogate family members between the Weasley’s and Gael. 

It still amazed her how far they had all come in the two years since the end of the war, each person trying to rebuild their lives. Her relationship with Ron had lasted for a few weeks before they both realized that they missed being friends with each other instead of a couple. He had reconnected with Lavender Brown after her recover from Fenir’s bite during the final battle, and they had married a few months ago outside of the Burrow. Hermione had travelled back for the ceremony and remembered how surprised she was at Lavender’s transformation, the girl even profusely thanked Hermione for saving her life during the battle. 

Harry and Ron both went into training to become Aurors, neither of them having any interest to return to school or take their N.E.W.T.s like Hermione had. Luckily Kingsley had taken over as Minister of Magic and was more than happy to welcome into the department. Ginny and Harry had skirted around each other for the past year, never really taking the next step like everyone thought they would. Ginny eventually tired of the instability and started dating Dean Thomas again, having found him much changed since school. 

Hermione always had some concern for her best friend who seemed to drift through life lately. His work was everything to him along with his godson Teddy. Mrs. Weasley had made attempts to set him up with several witches of their age but this finally stopped when Harry threatened to stop coming around. He and Hermione were still quite close and he came a few times a year to visit her in France, by the end of each of his visits he seemed to have a new life breathed back into him, but then he would come back in a few months, pale and quiet. 

“How is everyone?” Hermione asked, suddenly missing home very much. 

Fred and George looked at each other, silently decided who would speak. George started first, “For the most part good. Mum and Dad love having all of the grandkids around. And Charlie is Charlie, still stuck over in Romania, though I’ve heard some rumors that a special someone may be bringing him back to England soon. And Ron and Lav are doing well, still can’t get over them being together again.” 

Fred interrupted, “She started calling him won-won again after the wedding and Ginny almost hexed her. Luckily she seemed to get the hint and stop.” 

Hermione laughed at the image, “And how’s Ginny? Still with Dean?” 

George rolled his eyes. “Not in the slightest. I think she is chasing after some high profile quidditch player. Don’t worry, it’s not Krum.” He said with a wink. 

“Mum’s about to lock her in the attic with the ghoul for how snooty she has been acting lately.” Fred began with a grin. “Being a famous Quidditch player has really gone to her head.” 

Hermione laughed at the thought of the youngest Weasley as a celebrity in the wizarding world. It was one thing she appreciated about being in France instead of England, not a lot of people here recognized her as one of the golden trio. Ginny was one who would enjoy that sort of attention though, and rightfully deserved it with her chaser skills. 

“What about Harry? You told me in one of your last letters that he has been pretty isolated.” She asked Fred. 

“You’ve been writing each other?” George asked with surprise. Hermione nodded, they had been corresponding since she moved to France. At first it was to talk about new products and get Hermione’s input on them, seeing if there was anything she recommended they improve. Then with the frequency of the letters they had formed a friendship and often discussed their lives and those of their friends and family. The friendship they had formed would have surprised everyone back home given their interactions in school. 

“Well George if you had any lick of sense you would have been writing her as well. Why do you think more of my products work than yours?” Fred grinned at his twin. Hermione had been a sort of secret weapon for him and there were many occasions were George would blow up about one of his new ideas not panning out. 

While George pouted into his drink, Fred turned back to Hermione. “Honestly I think Harry just needs a sharp kick in the bollocks.” She raised her eyebrows at his statement. 

“He’s all mopey and downcast all of the time. I really don’t understand what happened after that final battle. He seemed euphoric for a while there but then fell into this slump. Honestly Hermione, I think you moving away had a pretty profound effect on him.” 

The stab of guilt that she felt every time she thought about leaving her best friend ran through her again and she glanced down at her hands. 

Fred noticed the change in her demeanor and reached over to tug on one of her curls, smiling slightly. “It’s not your fault Granger. You made the right decision for you. And after you and Ron basically devoting your lives to helping Harry out, you deserved the chance to be on your own. I really think he’s just having a hard time adjusting to things.” 

Hermione sighed. “I just wish I could be there for him. I’ve offered for him to stay with me for longer than his usual visits but he keeps saying he has too much going on with work. Like there aren’t any positions for Aurors here.” 

He had turned her down every time she brought it up, claiming that he was completely fine and couldn’t leave Teddy, which she understood. In a way she wished that they still had the closeness they had in school, but she appreciated how much they had grown as individuals since then. 

The sky outside was darkening as the evening drew on. Before they knew it Gael was starting to reprimand Hermione for staying up so late with her exams approaching. They stood to leave, Hermione giving the older man a quick hug while the twins thanked him profusely, using some of the very few French phrases they knew. The walk back to Hermione’s apartment was peaceful and they all appreciated the cool night air compared to the heat in the city during the day. 

Once back at the apartment Hermione gave them both a quick hug and wished them goodnight, saying she would see them tomorrow night after she was finished at the hospital. The events of the long day crashed over the twins as they settled into the beds Hermione had set up in the spare room, and soon they were both deep in sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were flooded with events for the twins and Hermione. Fred and George had spent almost the entire week scouting out different locations in the French wizarding community, each spot didn’t seem to work for what they were looking for. One spot might have worked but then Fred pointed out that it was right next to a lingerie store and they didn’t think their younger clienteles would appreciate walking past the moving mannequins modeling the latest style of French undergarments. 

It was nearing the end of the week and they had barely seen Hermione in their time there. Fred knew that her last exam was supposed to end tonight and had been looking forward to actually spending some time with her. After their years of corresponding he really did view her as his best friend. In school she had been part of the golden trio of Ron and Harry, he only really ever thought of her as his little brother’s crush. As he got to know her better he really was amazed by her intelligence and the amount that she cared about other people. He knew how excited she was to finally be done with her training and start actually practicing as a healer. 

He looked up from the book he was reading at the kitchen counter as the front door of the apartment opened and the witch in question burst through with a large grin on her face. Her hair was pulled back in a small bun at the nape of her neck but pieces had escaped in her excitement to get home. George stuck his head out from behind the fridge door at the commotion and took a large bite of the apple he had found. 

“Well?” He asked around the juicy fruit in his mouth. 

Hermione set her books carefully on the counter top and looked at them, trying not to smile. “I passed!” She yelled excitedly doing a small wiggle of a dance. 

Fred jumped up at her exclamation with a shout of his own excitement. Passing the healer exams was likely one of the most difficult tasks in the wizarding world and the fact that she had accomplished the feat was amazing. He swooped down and hugged her tightly, hearing her laugh in his ear as he swung her off of her feet. “Congratulations Granger!” 

George followed suit with a hug of his own, pulling back to laugh as Hermione’s happy dance continued around the room. 

“You know what Georgie?” Fred said, turning to his brother. “I think this calls for a bit of a celebration don’t you?” 

Hemione stopped her dancing and looked over at the suspiciously, “What do you mean celebration?” 

George grinned and went to put his arm around Hermione’s shoulder, “Get dressed Granger, we’re going out.” 

\- - 

An hour later George and Fred were rapping on the door of Hermione’s bedroom. “Hermione? You done yet?”

When silence met them Fred glanced over at George, “I never understand why it takes girls so long to get ready.” 

Just as he finished speaking the door opened quickly, causing them to jump backwards. Seeing Hermione standing there he definitely understood why it takes so long; she looked amazing. Her crazy curly hair was unleashed from the bun and hung wildly about her face, barely skimming her shoulders. The tight black pants she was wearing hugged the curve of her hips down her slim thighs while her silk black tank top was tucked in her waistband and dipped low between her breasts. Her eyes seemed a bit darker and thin gold chains hung from her ear lobes. 

“Blimey Granger.” Fred said as he tried not to make it so obvious that he had just scanned his gaze over her body. 

She blushed and adjusted the strap of her top. “Thanks. You two look alright.” 

George had pulled out his ‘bachelor pants’, a slim cut pair of black pants that hugged his hips and ‘killer buttocks’ as he liked to call them. The white button up he wore with them was tucked in at the waist and rolled up to his elbows, gaping slightly at the neck. Fred, who seemed to be less concerned with picking up women tonight was dressed more conservatively in a simple dark green T-shirt that hugged his slim waist and a pair of dark blue shorts. 

“Now, where are we going?” Hermione asked as they all went out to the hallway to start pulling shoes on. She stumbled a bit trying to adjust the straps of her falling into George who steadied her arm. 

“Keep acting like that and I almost think we don’t need to go anywhere.” He laughed at her already almost drunken stumbling. 

They left the apartment laughing, talking loudly about several ideas for new products that would be perfect for the Beauxbatons ladies. They turned a final corner and paused as the night club that Fred and George had seen earlier on their explorations of the town came into view. Neon lights lit the dark street in front of them and they could hear the faint pounding of the music within. 

“Hermione?”

The three of them turned towards the voice and found a tall blond a few feet from them. “Ella!” Hermione said with a grin before walking over and embracing the girl. They chatted for a bit, each girl laughing before they rejoined the two redheads. 

“Ella these are my friends Fred and George Weasley from back home. Fred, George, this is Ella. She’s been in classes with me since I moved here.” 

Fred grinned at the dumbstruck look on George’s face and he nudged his twin before reaching out to shake Ella’s hand. “Nice to meet you. And congratulations I presume, unless your out of course to drown your sorrows?” 

Ella laughed and looked over at Hermione, “No, you are looking at two successful healers! I still can’t believe it’s already over.” 

Finally regaining his wits George reached over and shook Ella’s hand. “Smart and beautiful! How’d you get so lucky?” 

Ella gave him a slight grin, appraising him. “Just luck I guess. How’d you manage? Hermione tells me you’re quite the success in jolly old England.” 

George shrugged his shoulders and grinned back at her. “Well it’s not all that hard being the brains of the family.” 

Fred gawfed and shook his head, he and Hermione enjoying the flirtation between the two. “How about we actually head inside instead of being stuck on the street?” Fred said with a grin at Hermione. She nodded eagerly and watched as George gallantly offered his arm to Ella who took it with a grin. 

The inside of the nightclub was just how it sounded from the outside; loud and crowded. The flashing lights from the stand above the DJ stashes shone on their faces as they passed through the entrance. They quickly made their way through the crowd where George eagerly bought them a round of shots, and then another, and another. As Fred slammed him glass upside down on the bar top, he laughed at the pinched look on Hermione’s face. Ella was laughing brightly at something George had said close to her ear, nodding eagerly as she took his hand and pulled him out on the dance floor. 

Hermione watched them go and then turned back to Fred with a grin, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked.” 

Fred thought of the girls that George had brought back to their flat over the past few years and shrugged, “Guess it’s just you and me.” He grinned at her before gesturing to the bartender for another round. 

Hermione held the glass in her hand and turned to watch her friend and George dancing together, feeling a slight tinge of jealousy. 

“What’s with that look?” Fred asked, watching her after he had downed his own drink. Hermione looked over at him and smiled, replacing the forlorn look that he had seen. 

“What look? This is my face.” She tossed the drink back and grimaced at the burn that slid down her throat. 

He laughed and shook his head. The music died down to a slower, softer song and he leaned against the counter. 

“So how has it been being over here? Really? I know you talk about it a lot in your letters but how is it really?” 

She looked at him and tilted her head. “It’s been great.” 

He raised his eyebrows at her making her laugh. “Really! I mean it’s been lonely at times but I really do love it here. Plus I’ve got some great friends in school, including the one that is currently grinding up against your brother.” 

The both looked over at the scene and laughed at the pair on the dancefloor, Fred shook his head before turning back to the witch in front of him. “So do you think you’ll come back to England now that you’re done?”

Hermione seemed to ponder this for a second. “I don’t know. I mean I want to go home, it would be lovely being around everyone again. But,” she paused and turned her large eyes towards him again. “I feel connected to my parents here. Like I’m here with them almost.” 

Fred regarded her thoughtfully, it was strange how well he had been writing to her for years and yet in a way he felt like he didn’t know her. She had left so quickly after the war he wondered about her own processing of the events that had occurred. 

“Fred. We’re here to have fun. I am celebrating and feeling quite tipsy and think that you need to wipe the frown off of your face and dance with me.” She grinned brightly, holding her hands out to him as she took a few steps back from the bar top. He smiled back at her and took her hand, allowing her to pull him out to the middle of the dancefloor. 

The low thud of the music seemed to reverberate through their bodies as they started to move in time with the beat. Fred laughed as she took his hand and tried to spin him, failing miserably given their height difference. The drink was definitely getting to him as he felt his head spin as much as his body did. Hermione closed her eyes and raised her arms over her head in the flashing lights, her hips moving side to side. He moved closer to her and put a hand on her waist, her eyes flew open and she smiled up at him. 

After a few more songs they made their way laughing back to the bar, joining George and Ella who were waiting for them. They spoke together for a while, laughing at the stories Fred and George were telling them about the pranks they had pulled as kids at Hogwarts. Hermione almost spit out her drink at the tale of the twins asking Professor McGonagoll to the yule ball. 

“You’re lucky you she didn’t turn you into a desk.”

Fred laughed, “A desk? That’s your punishment? Not a lizard or a toad, or even a ferret like Malfoy got?” 

Hermione stuck out her tongue at him, “I think being written on all day would be a perfectly horrid punishment.” 

George laughed before turning towards Ella and whispering something in her ear. The blond witch pulled back slightly and smiled, nodding at him. 

The younger twin cleared his throat and stood up to stretch comically. “Well guys, I don’t know about you but I’m tired,” He yawned widely as both Fred and Hermione raised their eyebrows at him. “I think I might be heading back to the apartment. Ella? Want me to walk you out?” 

Ella grinned slightly at Hermione before nodding to George. “Of course. Sorry guys, I really am tired after today.” 

The couple departed quickly after that, all but giggling with each other as they excited the club into the night air outside. 

“I can’t believe them.” Hermione exclaimed once they had left. Her tone sounded annoyed but the bright smile on her face said otherwise. “They just left us here so that they could.. they could shag!” She broke out in laughter at the last part, for some reason finding their antics hilarious. 

Fred grinned at her humor. “I think we won’t be seeing George until morning.”

The two friends sat at the bar for a few more minutes as they finished off their drink. Hermione’s face felt flushed and she knew her speech was getting more slurred by the minute. Fred was no better as he bent his head to the bar top in a fit of laughter, not really even sure what he was laughing at. They stumbled back out to the dancefloor together which was seemingly even more packed than before, pushing them against each other in the crowd. 

Hermione let her thoughts release as the music overtook her body. She moved against Fred and felt him grip her waist again, it felt odd to be dancing this close with someone she had know for years. Laughing she spun as he gripped her hand over her head, coming around so they were face to face. She put her hand up on his shoulder and stepped closer, moving together. Between the alcohol and the flashing lights they didn’t even feel like themselves, with her eyes closed she could almost be dancing with a stranger. Fred hand was at her waist, gripping her tightly as he pulled her closer to him and she felt her body react to his touch. He seemed to be feeling something similar as he pulled back quickly, looking down at her as if seeing her for the first time. 

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Fred leaned down, “We should probably head back.” He all but yelled in her ear over the music. Hermione nodded and he took her hand, leading her from the dance floor. The cool night air kissed their damp skin as they stepped out onto the dark street. Still feeling flushed from the dance floor, Hermione glanced up at Fred, remembering how close they had been. He was looking back at her and when he caught her looking back he grinned brightly making her laugh. 

“You got us here,” Hermione said, looking around the unfamiliar street. “Now get us back.”

They stumbled their way down the street, laughing loudly at the other’s antics. At one point Hermione took of her shoes as they were digging into the sides of her feet. Fred had protested loudly at her walking down the Paris streets barefoot so naturally, she hopped up on his back to be carried back to the apartment. He started describing things that they passed in the most outlandish details and by the time they had reached the front of her building Hermione’s side was aching from laughing so hard. 

Stairs were not their friend as they struggled up the three flights to her front door. Panting Fred rested his hand against the wall, “Why the hell didn’t we bring out wands?” 

Hermione laughed as she tried to insert her key into the hole, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Just where would you propose I keep a wand in this outfit?” 

When she turned around again he let his gaze wander appreciatively over her figure as he had earlier in the evening. She did have a point, a wand would be difficulty to hide in the skin tight pants and skimpy shirt she was wearing. Finally getting the door unlocked they stumbled into the entry way, almost falling over the other. 

“George!” Hermione called out into the silent space. Not hearing an answer Fred went to check the room where they had been staying, finding it empty he returned to the kitchen. 

“Guess we were right before.” He said with a laugh, knowing his brother was likely at another witch’s apartment for the night. 

He looked up in time to see Hermione performing what looked like an odd form of yoga as she tried to unlace the straps of her sandals. “What are you doing?” He asked as she pulled her foot up against the back of her leg, jumping on the other foot as she fumbled with the shoe. 

“What does it look like? Dammit why did I wear these?” She gave a squeak as she tripped on the side of one of the stools, stumbling forward. Fred instinctively stepped closer and steadied her with a tight grip on her waist, her own hands coming to rest on her upper arms. 

“Merlin Granger, how snockered are you?” 

She pulled back to look at him, “Just as much as you, we drank the same amount.” 

He rolled his eyes at her and gave her his ‘yeah right’ look. Their stared each other down for a few seconds before bursting out laughing, gripping each other tightly as they leaned into each other. She slowly became aware of his hands on her waist, it felt different than how they had when they were dancing, somehow more intimate. She looked up to found him staring down at her and her breath hitched in her throat as her mouth went dry. Her thoughts were a mess in her head as she tried to make sense of what was happening. 

“Hermione..” Fred said softly, letting his eyes run over her flushed face. A voice in his head was screaming that this was his little brother's ex-girlfriend, but he truly didn't care at the moment. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she started to lean forward, not even thinking about what she was doing. He met her halfway and his lips covered hers, softly at first and then more urgent. She moved her hands from his arms up to behind his neck, standing on her toes to get closer to him, not even remembering that she still had one of her shoes on. She felt the stress of the last three years fade away as she lost herself in the kiss. Their lips moved against each other and parted slightly to deepen their contact. 

When they finally pulled apart Fred rested his forehead against hers. He never imagined that they would be in this position, but at the moment it was all he wanted. 

“Hermione I..” 

She shook her head and met his lips quickly again. “No, don’t talk.” She moved, walking forward slowly as their lips met again, finally making their way down the hallway to her bedroom. 

And they didn’t talk, not for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The pounding in her head woke her the next morning, with bright sunlight from the large window she had forgotten to cover last night streaming across her eyes. She raised a hand to block out the brightness and groaned as she turned her face into her pillow. Since living in Paris she had gone out with friends on several occasions, but none ended with this much discomfort in the mornings.

Mentally cursing herself for drinking so much, she rolled over in her bed so she was on her side, slowly becoming aware that she didn’t have any clothes on. Opening her eyes she blinked several times, glancing down at her naked body and trying to remember the events of the evening. A noise from behind her on the bed made her freeze. Someone was there, she thought panicked.

Slowly she glanced over her shoulder towards the middle of the bed, apprehensive of what she might find there. When she caught site of a head of red hair she felt her heart start to race as she panicked and scooted backwards on the bed, effectively pushing herself off. She yelped as she hit the floor next to the bed, frantically trying to pull the sheet down to cover her.

The noise woke Fred and he groaned as he rolled over in bed, rubbing his eyes. When he opened them he seemingly went through the same process as Hermione had gone through; confusion, pain, a little bit of panic. He stretched slightly and looked about the room trying to remember where exactly he was. She froze when he looked over to where she had fallen, watching further confusion cloud his face.

“Hermione?” He asked, furrowing his brows as he tried to figure out what the hell she was doing in his room.

She stood as quick as she could despite the aching that was now present in her right hip. Fred seemed to become aware of the sheets that she was clutching to her naked body and his brows furrowed. He glanced down at his own bare chest and realizing they were both naked, in the same room, seemingly in the same bed. She could see the gears in his brain turning as he tried to come up with any other reason for why they were in this situation, other than the obvious one.

“Fred.” She said quietly.

“Why am I naked? Why are you naked?” His voice rose with each question as he looked back to her, taking in the crazy curls that framed her face. “What the bloody hell happ…? Did we..?”

She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I don’t know.” Though that wasn’t entirely true; as the fog from her brain was clearing she could see flashes of what had occurred last night.

\- -

_“Hermione.” He breathed into her ear as they entered the bedroom. She could feel his lips trail down the side of her neck as his hands wrapped around her back to press her to him._

_Her own hands were at the hem of his shirt tugging it over his head as she took a step back to appreciate the muscles on his chest and abdomen, her fingers slowly running over them. He started to grin at her obvious appraisal of his body before he stepped forward again and covered her mouth with his again, the warmth from his bare skin drawing her in._

_\- -_

She brought her fingertips to her lips, still feeling the buzzing of the contact she had had with Fred’s. Shaking her head slightly to clear the memory she turned her gaze back to Fred, not even sure of what to say.

“I think.. I think we…” She couldn’t get the words out. This was not a situation she had expected to ever be in, least of all with her best friend’s older brother, the man she had considered her own good friend.

Fred was watching her intently, his own flashing memories of the very intimate things they had done coming back to him. “We slept together.” He said bluntly.

The slight pink to her cheeks was something he would have found charming if it hadn’t been accompanied by the obvious awkward situation they had found themselves in. He slid out of the bed carefully, keeping the blanket wrapped securely around his waist. He could see clothing scattered over the green pattered rug on the wooden floor. Reaching down he snatched his boxers up and swiftly pulled them on, Hermione averting her gaze quickly even though she was beginning to remember exactly what his body had looked like without any clothes on.

She turned back to him as he cleared his throat. He was standing in the middle of her bedroom in his bright blue boxers, his hair standing on end as he watched her. The situation would have been humorous had it not been that she was still standing across from him, naked as can be. They looked at each other for a few more seconds, Hermione feeling as small as a mouse under his gaze. “Um, I- I think I’ll just.” She gestured to the adjoining bathroom door behind her.

He nodded quickly, “Yeah of course. I’ll..” His own gesture was to the door leading to the hallway, back to his own room.

They nodded awkwardly at each other before Hermione turned quickly and scurried into the bathroom, trying to keep the sheet from falling lower down her back. Fred was left alone in the room as the bathroom door clicked closed. He took a final look around the room, not believing what had happened last night. The black tank top she had been wearing was at his feet when he looked down.

\- -

_The smell of her was intoxicating as he buried his nose in her neck, reveling in the soft sigh that came from her lips. His hands pressed her small body close to him, the desire racing through his blood with each pounding beat. Pushing back she reached for the hem of her own shirt, pulling it out of the waist of her pants and over her head. The small black lacy bra she was wearing hugged her perfectly and he reached out tentatively to touch her._

_Her skin was warm under his hand and she reached for him again, moving her mouth quickly back to his as he trailed his hand down to the front of her jeans. They clung to her skin as he maneuvered them off of her, laughing as she shimmied in front of him. Slipping the down to her feet he came to rest on his knees in front of her, leaning forward to kiss her abdomen above the black of her knickers. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, running her fingers through his hair as he moved his mouth lower._

_He shook his head at the memory and went out the door, picking up his clothes as he went to return to his own room. Seeing it was empty he breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful that George had not returned to the precarious situation he now found himself in. He knew that he would never live this it down if his twin had found him naked in bed with Hermione Granger._

\- -

Back in the bathroom Hermione was staring at herself in the oval mirror above the sink. Still clutching the sheet to her chest she took a few deep breathes to clear her head before letting the sheet drop and stepped into the cold water of the shower. She had never been one for hot showers, hating the feeling of the burning liquid on her skin. In retrospect she supposed it was because it reminded her too much of the sensation she experienced at Malfoy manor, one that she was trying hard to forget.

She stood under the water for what felt like hours, berating herself for the decisions they made last night. Fred’s friendship had meant so much to her over the past few years, he was the connection to home that actually made her feel better. And she had ruined it. She shook her head remembering her eagerness in falling into bed with him. Remembered his own eagerness as he had touched her.. everywhere.

_\- -_

_Her knees felt like they were about to give way as his tongue worked over her, never in her life had she imagined feeling this good. She was not inexperienced by any means but Fred seemed to know exactly where and how to touch her, something that she now found was missing with previous encounters. She opened her eyes again as Fred stood in front of her, the darkness of his blue eyes staring deeply into her._

_He back her up until her knees hit the soft cream colored comforter on the bed, causing her to sit down. As he bent down to kiss her again, her fingers found his belt buckle, undoing it swiftly. He pushed her back slightly onto the bed and leaned over her, moving his mouth down her chest to her lace covered breast. The aching need for him was almost painful as she pushed his pants and boxers down to find his own need for her. The rest of her clothing was off in seconds as they both moved further up the mattress, Fred supporting himself as he hovered over her._

_"Are you sure?" He had asked._

_Instead of answering she had gripped his hip and pulled him down between her parted thighs, kissing him as he entered her. At that moment she had never been so sure of anything. They moved together as one, eventually finding the peak of their own pleasure and falling over the edge, holding the other tightly as the waves crashed over them._

_\- -_

Running her hands through her curly, wet hair, she shivered at the memory of Fred's movements against her. She didn't know when she stopped thinking of Fred as an older brother and instead as a friend and as a man. Growing up together at Hogwarts she had looked up to him, surprisingly given how much grief the twins had given her as a prefect. Then after school they were friends, just friends. Not that she didn't find him attractive, nothing could be further from the truth actually. He had a beater's build still, with well defined muscles and a tall figure that dwarfed her. The messy orange hair she found enduring but there was something about his eyes that drew her in; they were dark blue, much different from the rest of his siblings, beside George of course. There was a seriousness about him since the war as well, not enough to dull the humor he found in life, but something that dwelt below the surface. They hadn't talked much about what had happened to him during the battle at Hogwarts and she would never push the subject.

She turned off the water finally and stepped out, wrapping a towel tightly around her naked body. Back in her room she could hear the shower down the hall running and wondered if Fred was having similar thoughts about what had happened.

She dressed quickly in shorts and a T-shirt, trying to get as much water out of her hair so that it wasn’t dripping down her back. If she had it her way she would hide in her room until the twins left, and then simply avoid Fred for the rest of her life. The shower was still running in the other bathroom as she crept by it, quickly heading out to the kitchen to try and find the pepper up potion she hoped was still stashed at the back of the cupboard. Finding it, she quickly unstoppered the small bottle and drained the contents, immediately feeling the pain and fogginess lift completely.

The opening of the front door to the apartment made her jump as she looked over to see George sneaking in, probably thinking that no one would be up given how early it still was. As he slipped off his shoes and looked up, grinning slightly as he found he had been caught. He made his way into the kitchen, still in the clothes he had been wearing last night, and took a seat at a stool across the counter for her.

“Got any more friends Granger?” He asked with a smirk.

If she hadn’t been having her own personal crisis she would have found his humor more appealing. “Ella’s a nice person George. Please don’t mess with her.”

The grin dropped from his face and he looked at her in confusion, her statement more abrupt than he had been expecting. “Hermione I’m not messing with her. I really liked her, honest.”

She immediately felt bad as she knew George wasn’t like that. She sighed and ran a hand through her drying hair. “I’m sorry George. I know, I was just..” She stopped talking as the door to the bathroom opened and Fred emmerged. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and caught her eye as he toweled off of his hair. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Fred turned and disappeared into the guest bedroom.

George watched the interaction between the two of them with a confused look on his face that quickly turned into one of complete shock. He turned back to Hermione who had dropped her gaze to the counter where she was fiddling with a ring on her pinky finger.

“I seemed to have missed something last night.” He said as started to grin at Hermione.

She looked up at him sharply and shook her head, speaking quickly, “It’s nothing.” She turned towards the fridge to keep George from seeing the blush she could feel rising on her cheeks.

George snorted, “I think I’m familiar enough with the look of two people who had just slept together, I’ve got 6 siblings Hermione. And contrary to popular belief, that is not _nothing_ in my book.”

Hermione glared at him over her shoulder, wishing he would just disappear so she could be alone. “It is nothing. We were drunk and it was a mistake. End of story.” She grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and strode past him to the door, ignoring his calls as she exited the apartment and made her way out into the city, hoping to find something to clear her mind.

A few minutes after she left, Fred came out of the bedroom, surprised to find George alone in the kitchen, picking at a bowl of cereal. The shower had helped to clear his mind a bit, focusing now on actually having a conversation with the witch he had spent the night with.

“Where’s Hermione?” He asked, looking out to the empty living room.

George turned to him with a smirk, “Guess you scared her off. Didn’t live up to expectations in the sack, eh Freddie?”

Fred narrowed his eyes at his twin, not finding the situation all that humorous. “One: my skills in this particular area surpasses expectations, as I’ve been told on many occasions. And two: where did she go?”

George gestured towards the door and Fred swore, going over to pull on his shoes before hurrying after her. Not sure where she would have went, he made a snap decision outside of the building and turned to the left, running a bit as he went. It was still earlier enough to where there weren’t a lot of people on the street, allowing him to see Hermione’s curly hair turn a corner a few blocks ahead of him.

“Hermione! Wait!” He yelled out as he got closer to her. She jumped at his voice and stopped walking, turning around to see him running towards her.

“Running away are we?” He asked when he caught up to her, slightly out of breath.

She blushed a bit and shook her head, “Not at all. I just wanted to take a walk.”

There was a few seconds of silence. Neither of them were really prone to staying quiet but there was a sense of awkwardness between them. Fred ran a hand through his messy hair and watched a car drive slowly past them.

“Look, we should probably talk about what happened.” He finally said.

“Yeah. I suppose we should.” Hermione said with a sigh, gesturing for him to follow her. They walked a few more blocks before coming to a sort of park with a few trees and benches. The day was getting warmer around them but Hermione hugged her arms across her chest.

“So.” Fred said as he sat down on the bench next to her.

“So.” She repeated.

After a few seconds of silence she took a deep breath. “Look, we can just pretend nothing happened. I don’t want things to be awkward between us. I know that it didn’t mean anything and was a spur of the moment, alcohol fueled mistake.”

He tried to keep from feeling hurt at her words but she continued. “We’re friends and I don’t want to ruin that.”

“I don’t think us having slept together would ruin a friend ship,” He joked. “I’m friends with plenty of people that I’ve slept with.”

She raised her eyebrows at him and tilted her head, clearly this was not the right approach. Backtracking he spoke again, “Not that you’re just anyone, mind you. It’s just that like you said, it didn’t mean anything.”

Her brown eyes glinted in the sun as she looked at him for a minute, before looking down with a laugh. “Okay, so we’re friends who happened to sleep together. No big deal.”

He grinned at her, feeling somewhat back to normal in their relationship. “Right. Never to be thought of again, except of course in my dreams.”


	4. Chapter 4

It turned out that it was easier said than done to not think about their night together. The rest of the twin’s stay in France with Hermione was plagued by awkwardness between the two. They tried to interact normally but things had most definitely changed between them, making each see the other in a new light. George had given up attempting to diffuse the tension and instead sat back and watched with amusement, not enough joking and humor in the world could erase what had happened.

Fred and George were still finding it difficulty locating a good location for their new shop, each place seemed to have something working against it. Finally they decided to call their search a failure and go home to reevaluate. Hermione felt torn by their announcement that they would be returning home in a few days, she loved having them around for company and as a reminder of home, but the tension between her and Fred was driving her crazy.

At the train station on their last day Hermione pulled back from a hug with George, laughing as he told her of his plans to try and convince Ella that England was more than just a rainy wasteland.

“I’m going to win her over Hermione. Just you wait.” He said with a beaming grin before planting a kiss on her cheek.

She shook her head at him. “Well when you inevitably marry, I call dibs naming your first born.”

Her eyes were twinkling when she turned to Fred to say goodbye, her smile faltered a bit. Despite their pact that what had happened wasn’t going to come between them, they hadn’t spoken one on one basically for the rest of the trip. It wasn’t that she felt awkward with him, she didn’t care that he had seen her naked or the things they did together. It was that she felt..different about him.

“Well,” she said, replacing the smile on her face. “I’m sorry you didn’t quite find what you were looking for.”

His eyes glinted at her, “What makes you think I didn’t?”

She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and shook her head at the slight grin on his face, she thought that she had passed feeling embarrassed with him.

“Granger, I’m just joking with you. It was a great visit, you were great.”

This wasn’t any better and he knew it, “Um.. what I mean to say is..”

Hermione laughed at his stuttering, “It’s alright, I understood.”

He smiled at her appreciatively before stepping forward and pulling her into a hug, remembering exactly how her body felt in his arms.

“And I was great.” She said softly to him as she pulled back, a wide grin spread on her face as she winked at him. The train whistled loudly indicating its eminent departure. He gapped at her as she stepped back from the platform, allowing the other travelers to get by.

Her eyes were twinkling as she caught his eye again with a grin and he shook his head at her. George nudged his arm, “Time to go, Freddie.”

They both waved at Hermione once more before boarding the train themselves, finding a seat near the end of the car. They had just sat down when the floor lurched beneath them and they were on their way. Fred looked out the window one more time and his eyes found his target. Hermione was still on the platform, looking at the receding train, her dark curls shifting in the air. Her dark brown eyes finally met his through the window and she raised her hand in a slight wave. The site of her caused a slight pang in his chest, one that he hadn’t been expecting.

\- -

They were home for a just over a month before Fred finally got sick of the silent treatment and decided to write Hermione. Before their visit he would get at least a letter a week from her, but the owl service had been silent since their trip. It was frustrating him to no end, he hadn’t realized how much hearing from her meant to him until it stopped happening.

It was an hour to closing time during a particularly slow day at the shop and he decided to make good use of the quiet. He was in the back room and sat down on a stool at one of the work benches, taking out a quill and parchment as he sat.

_Hermione,_

__I’ve written to offer my sincerest condolences, for I can only imagine that you have died since our visit. Your silence has caused me to conclude that you must have thrown yourself on the train tracks in despair at our leaving. I expect an invitation to the funeral henceforth.__

__Waiting,_ _

_Fred_

Her replay came the next day, carried on the grey owl that he had sent with his letter yesterday.

_Fred,_

__Indeed I cannot deny that your departure left me in such despair as I couldn’t get out of bed for days. Or maybe it was because my bed is so comfortable that I didn’t want to leave? Either way, I regret to inform you that my life was indeed taken. On my way home from the train station I was attacked by a gang of French mimes. They set upon me with their many lassos and I was done for, left for dead on the street having been strangled by an invisible force._ _

_Funeral is next week. Location to be determined._

__Dearly departed,_ _

_Hermione_

He chuckled at her response, picturing her getting roped in by the silent gang. Her line about her bed caused him pause, he did remember it being quiet comfortable, and he remembered how exactly she looked nestled into the mattress. Since coming back to England he found his thoughts frequently returning to that night, more so than any other encounter he had had in the past. George had caught him daydreaming on multiple occasions, smirking knowingly before carrying on as if nothing had happened.

It was difficult to put his finger on exactly what he was feeling, he cared about Hermione, had since they were kids. She was his kid brother’s best friend, a member of their family, someone who had made it her personal mission as kids to thwart the twin’s plans. But there was something different about her now, what it was he couldn’t quite pinpoint.

_Granger,_

__As it is, I happen to be busy next week. Large product launch unfortunately. I send some flowers though, maybe a firework or two? Spice things up a bit._ _

_Speaking of the future, have you made any decisions on where yours is taking you? Now that your training is officially over I can imagine you must be eager to start practicing. I’ve heard there are amazing hospitals in France._

__Inquisitively,_ _

_Fred_

The shop got busy the day after he had written that letter, as it was nearing the time for students to leave for Hogwarts so naturally they were all looking to stock up on pranks until Christmas. He was still keeping an eye out for her letter though, occasionally peeking out the front window in hopes of seeing his grey owl return.

After a few days of craziness, he collapsed on the couch in the flat above the shop that he shared with George. Getting out of the burrow at age seventeen had been a wonderful experience, and the flat was a refuge for them. The Burrow was still home to them though and the spent many weekends there with their other family members, at least the ones still living there.

George came out of his room a few minutes later and saw his twin lounged on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Everything closed up below?” He asked his twin.

Fred raised a hand in a thumbs-up motions, not bothering to open his eyes or speak. George shrugged and went to the kitchen.

“By the way, you’ve got a letter. Came during lunch but you were working.” He said with his nose stuck in a cupboard, trying to figure out what to eat.

Fred perked up at this, getting immediately to his feet and taking the letter off of the counter where George had placed it earlier this evening.

“How is our favorite witch doing?” George asked with a grin as he took a bite out of a biscuit. He took every opportunity to tease his twin mercilessly about his time with the bookworm.

Fred rolled his eyes at George and broke the wax on the letter.

_Weasley (you started it),_

__If I ever were to die, fireworks would most certainty be banned from my funeral. I want everyone’s focus on me so I can scare the pants off of them when I reappear as a ghost.__

_I’ve actually had quite a few offers from the medical community for different positions. It’s been difficult trying to decide between some of them but I’m getting close to making a final decision. And no, I’m not going to tell you until I’ve fully made up my mind. No outside influences. It does feel wonderful to have choices though, seems like my life up until now has been so planned. Between fighting with Harry and then my training, taking a break has been wonderful._

_Don’t worry. You’ll be the first (second?) to know when I do make a decision._

__Deciding,_ _

_Hermione_

He sent back his letter with a single line on it and waited for her reply. Several weeks later he was regretting what he sent as he still hadn’t heard from her, the boredom of waiting and wondering was driving him absolutely crazy. The shop only kept him so busy now that the pre-school rush had died down and they were back to regular, casual shoppers. He devoted most of his time to spend with George, bent over potions and books in the back room, trying to develop new products for the holidays.

The next Saturday he woke and got ready, looking forward to his Mother’s cooking that he would enjoy tonight. It was a weekend that he and George had decided to leave the shop in the capable hands of their employees so they could go home. Ron and Lavender were supposed to be there for the weekend and the twins figured they may as well stop in. The couple lived just over the hill from their parents but rarely stopped by, both of them kept busy with each other and their work.

When the twin’s arrived the kooky house always put a grin on Fred’s face. They walked through the Garden that they had spent their youth de-gnoming. The sounds of excited voices came through the kitchen window and George glanced at him in question. He shrugged his shoulders and they both entered the house, looking to see the cause.

When they rounded the corner of the kitchen, Fred stopped in his tracks at the site that greeted him. Harry Potter was standing in their kitchen, arms wrapped tightly around a familiar curly-haired witch. She had her back turned toward them but he recognized the laugh and slim body. Harry’s face was split in a wide grin that the Weasley’s hadn’t seen in some time, obviously brought about by the arrival of his best friend.

When Hermione’s feet were back on the ground she turned about the room, grinning brightly until she caught site of the redhead in the doorway. He saw he pause before the smile grew wider and she stepped towards them, laughing at the hug George gave her.

“Just couldn’t stay away huh?” He asked, smiling as she turned to him.

She stepped forward and shrugged, “You told me to hurry and make my mind up, so I did.”

He hugged her, smelling the familiar vanilla scent in her hair. “Could have at least told us you were visiting.”

When they pulled apart she had a mischievous look to her face. “But I’m not visiting.” She laughed as he tilted his head in confusion at her. “I’m the new healer at St. Mungos. I’m moving back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, needed to move some things along so other things can start happening :)


	5. Chapter 5

It felt strange being back in England after the long, blissful years in France. After everything sunk in, Hermione had periods where she greatly regretted her decision, missing the carefree happiness she had become accustomed to. It seemed that at every turn there would be something to remind her of the war.

Not having any family in the area anymore, Harry quickly offered her a place at Grimmauld Place, where he had been staying in solitude for the past few years. The house wasn’t at bleary as Hermione had remembered it, but there was still a sense of darkness to some room that made her shudder. She was surprised that Harry had been able to live here on his own for so long, maybe it was contributing to his forlornness.

As downcast as he had seemed over the past few year, since she moved in with him there was a greater resemblance to the man she used to know. She had moved into a room down the hall from Sirius’s old room which Harry had claimed for his own. Immediately she switched out the dark green wallpaper for light cream walls, covering the dark hardwood floor with the light green patterned carpet from her flat in France. The room was a beacon of light in the darkness of the house and Hermione and Harry both found themselves drawn to it more often than not. Discovering how much difference being in the room had on their moods, Harry and Hermione immediately went to work on the rest of the house, much to Mrs. Black’s horror. The painting on the wall continued to scream and curse at them as the dark walls were replaced by blues, whites and browns.

Hermione loved living with Harry, he had been her brother since she was twelve years old. They both woke early in the mornings to sit on the back stoop and drink their coffee while the sun rose. The connection between the two was unexplainable, both having experienced terrors together and not having to speak about them.

Her work at the hospital had started off quickly and she was grateful for the distraction. It amazed her how much she had still to learn about the practice and thought that she studied more now than she had when she was actually in her training program. Harry often found her sitting at the large dining room table with books spread about her well into the night. She was still proud of her progress in the profession though, over the first two months of her being at the hospital more than one senior healer had complimented her on her abilities.

However, due to her busy schedule it left little time to spend time with the friends and family who she had missed so much. But as much as she missed them, she appreciated not having to face a certain red-head of the group. Even with their promise to forget about what happened, being back at home had made her feel even more self-conscious and awkward around him. With the one time the family had gotten together since she had been back, she had carefully avoided being along with him, hoping that no one would notice.

This may have not have been the best idea as Fred noticed very much, confused by her detachment from him after years of friendship. While he understood the change in their relationship, he wasn’t willing to lose a friend over a single night. And he made this quite clear when he decided to hunt down the witch and have her explain herself.

He felt a bit stalkerish as he waited outside of the hospital front doors in the orange glow of the setting sun. Several people passed him as they went through the doors to start their shift, he finally saw her come out the opposite way. Her short curly hair hung loose, framing her face and glinted in the setting sun. The dark grey scrubs she wore at work skimmed her body, a body that Fred had a sudden flash of with much less clothes on. Suddenly thinking that his idea wasn’t a very good one, he had just started to turn and leave when her voice rang out.

“Fred?”

He turned back to her with a slight smile, finding her looking at him with confusion. Her dark eyes glinted in the light as her eyebrows drew together.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, taking a few steps closer.

He shrugged and grinned wider. “Just wanted to make sure you were still alive. You seem to have been avoiding me.” She started to interrupt but he raised his eyebrows, making her stop talking. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your avoidance at the Burrow a few weeks ago. You barely said three words to me.”

Hermione immediately felt a slight wave of guilt wash over her. She had been so focused on the family not noticing anything between them that she didn’t even think about how her actions would affect Fred. She looked down and tucked one side of her hair behind an ear, fiddling a bit with the thin chain of the necklace she wore.

“I wasn’t _avoiding you.”_ She started to say, but rolled her eyes at the look he gave her. “Okay. I was avoiding you. I’m sorry.”

He tilted his head at her. “Why?”

She lifted her hands and sighed, “Because… because as much as I’d like to pretend that what happened didn’t mean anything, it does.”

He lifted his brows at her as she continued. “I mean, you’ve seen me naked. _I’ve_ seen you naked. We slept together. That’s not exactly something we can ignore and pretend didn’t happen. Or at least I can’t.”

She lifted her eyes to meet his, they were wide as they bored into his. Shaking her head, she looked down again, “I don’t know how to do this, Fred. I’ve never done the casual sex thing. And I know we were drunk and it was a mistake, but it still happened, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

He took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder, bending his knees slightly so that he was at eye level and she had to look at him.

“This is different for me as well, you know?” He said with a slight smile. “I told you that it wouldn’t be a big deal, that we could just move past it and forget that it ever happened. But I’ve never been very good about forgetting.”

She searched his face for a second, “Then what do we do?”

He laughed and ran his hand through the mess of his hair, making it stand on end. “I don’t know. But I want to figure it out.”

She smiled slightly at his words and nodded. “So do I. Can I buy you drink?”

He pretended to look shocked and took a step back, placing a hand to his chest. “Granger, are you trying to get me drunk? ‘Cause we all know what happened last time.” The mischievous smirk that spread across his face was reminiscent of the old Fred.

Hermione’s eyes widened and she swatted at his arm. “No! Nothing like that. I’m starving and considering how late it was I assumed you’ve already eaten. So I figured I’d offer you a drink while I get dinner. Unless of course you haven’t eaten then you are more than welcome to get food as well.” She was rambling and she knew it, not able to stop the words flowing out of her mouth.

Fred started to laugh and held up his hands to stop her, knowing that she would keep going if he didn’t. “I understand Hermione. And I would love to get dinner with you.”

She blew out a breath and took his proffered arm, feeling the familiar sucking sensation of apparation as she took it. The restaurant they landed in front of was reminiscent of the Italian ones that she had visited during her rare free time while in France. She and Ella had developed a love of Italy and loved spending their vacations there.

They were shown a table near the front windows and Hermione looked out, appreciating the deep pinks and oranges still coloring the sky. She ordered a glass of wine and laughed as he tried to pronounce the names of the Italian dishes. When they had ordered and she had leaned back in her chair with the glass in her hand, Fred sat back to look at her.

“So how is the life of a healer? Everything you thought I would be?”

She put her glass down and nodded. “Yeah it is actually. You know how much trouble I had deciding what to do after Hogwarts.”

He remembered distinctly her being torn between multiple different callings, Magical Law Enforcement, Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, teaching, being a healer, traveling the world. She had been stressing about her decision up until the deadline to enroll in the healing program, staying up all night fretting while Harry, Ron and Fred all stayed up with her to go over the pros and cons.

She continued, “It’s challenging in a way I never thought I would be challenged. There’s more to it than just spells and potions, it’s like a mystery that needs solving each time I get a new patient. Obviously some mysteries are a bit less complex than others.” She said with a laugh, thinking back to the little boy she had seen today with a jelly bean up his nose.

“But you like it?” He said over the lip of his pint glass.

She considered him for a few seconds before nodding. “I do. I think I can really help people doing this. Not having my job dictated at through the ministry, being controlled at every turn. I know it’s different under Kingsley, but I don’t think I could have ever gotten past how it used to be.”

“And how about you? I haven’t had the chance to stop by the shop yet, everything still going well?”

Fred nodded, “And have you given any more thought to your expansion plans?”

He sighed, since coming back from France, he and George had avoided talking about expanding anymore. They had been so excited to go about the project when they went to scout out locations, but with each discouraging development they were thinking that they had maybe bit off too much.

“I don’t know. We’ve got such a good thing going here and could live the rest of our lives comfortably just doing what we love every day. It’s hard to want to change that.”

She tilted her head at him, some brown curls falling out from behind her ear. “But you seemed so set on it.”

He nodded and spun his glass in his hand. “Yeah. Just thinking that it might not be the right time.”

Hearing the hesitancy and underlying bitterness in his voice, Hermione decided to drop the subject, hoping that he would feel comfortable talking with her at some point. Their food arrived and Hermione was pleasantly surprised by the quality and authenticity of the pasta dish she had ordered. She moaned in pleasure after the first bite, closing her eyes in appreciation, not having realized how hungry she was.

“Bloody hell Granger, give a bloke a warning before you make noises like that.”

She opened her eyes in surprise to find him gaping at her, a slight smile across his lips. A blush spread over her cheeks and she took a large swallow of wine.

He laughed slightly, seeing her discomfort. “Hermione it was a joke. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

The small globe of fire sitting in a jaw between them on the table lit up her features as she looked up at him. He could see her long lashes framing her darks eyes, the pinkness on her cheeks fading away. “I know. Sorry.”

They continued eating in silence, Hermione finally pushing her half-finished plate away claiming she couldn’t take anymore. She nursed the rest of her wine while Fred cleaned his plate, joking that the ferocious appetite must run in the family.

When he finished he settled back and drained the last of his beer. “Speaking of family,” he said, setting the glass down. “Mind if I ask you a personal question?”

She tilted her head at him and nodded, curious as to what he would consider a ‘personal question’.

“What happened between you and Ron?”

The question surprised her and her eyebrows rose up, widening her eyes.

“I mean, everyone always thought you two were the ultimate ending. It was no surprise when you two got together after the battle but I can honestly say we were all shocked when it ended.” He felt slightly awkward discussing the relationship between his brother and his friend, the girl he had slept with.

Hermione fiddled with the stem of her glass, “It’s not like we were together for very long, just five months.”

He knew this already, “Yes, but what happened? You both seemed happy.”

She met his eyes, “We _were_ happy. But after the first few months, we just fell back into our old roles as friends. Nothing felt different for us and we just found we liked each other as friends more than.. well _more._ Does that make sense?”

He nodded as she continued, thinking back to something she hadn’t thought about in a while. “I mean I think, looking back, that we could have made it work. But neither of us wanted to settle for anything less than what we wanted.” She looked up at him, “And if I’m going to be in a relationship then I want there to be more.”

It felt like an odd thing to say at twenty-one years of age, but she had always spoke beyond her age. Her relationship with Ron started out fast and fierce, both of them reveling in being together after years of dancing around each other. It had been what they had both expected; fun, intense, comforting. But then they slipped back into their old roles, the physicality of their relationship becoming once again platonic. It was like they had this intense curiosity and desire about the other, and once the need was fulfilled, it didn’t mean as much to them anymore. She genuinely was happy for Ron and his relationship with Lavender, they had something that she had never shared with her friend.

When she looked up again, Fred was watching her with an odd look on his face. She blushed a bit under his scrutiny and blinked at him, “What?”

Smiling slightly he shrugged, turning his gaze off of her. “Nothing.”

She laughed and shook her head, “Right.”

Seeing that it was dark out they both stood from the table to leave, the cool fall air outside swept over their exposed skin, making Hermione wish she had remembered her jacket this morning. They stood outside of the restaurant for a few seconds, surrounded by the silence.

“Well, thanks for dinner.” Fred said, smiling down at her.

“You’re welcome.” She said, smiling back at him before starting to turn to leave.

He reached out and caught her arm, “Hermione wait..”

She turned back to him with a questioning look on her face. He looked at her for a few seconds, acutely aware of how warm her skin felt under his hand.

“What if we could be more?”

She furrowed her brows and stepped back towards him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he continued. “You said you wanted more. What if we could be more. I know we said that what happened didn’t mean anything, but I’ve felt _something_. I’m not exactly sure what it is but it feels good.”

She watched him carefully with a look of surprise and confusion, not entirely sure what he was asking. Seeing that she still wasn’t getting it, he laughed slightly and ran his free hand through his hair.

“Hermione, you’ve surprised me since I met you. I’m not asking you to marry me, just what if we were open to whatever happens.”

“Happens with us?” She asked, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. Did he mean he wanted more than just their current friendship with her?

He nodded and took a step closer to her, they were barely a hands distance apart. “I’m game if you are?”

She laughed a bit and considered his words. He wasn’t alone in his feelings, since their night together she had definitely been thinking about him differently. However she still felt skeptical, she loved their friendship and how it had grown since the war and she wasn’t sure if she wanted that to change. But she couldn’t deny that she felt something, and maybe that something deserved a chance.

“Okay.” She said softly.

He seemed surprised at her answer, fully expecting her to have said no. “Really? I don’t meant to pressure you or anything.”

Hermione shook her head, “You’re not. And you’re right, I want more.”

His lips turned upwards at her words and she couldn’t help but to smile back at him. Shaking her head she looked down at the ground that was slightly illuminated by the restaurant lights. It surprised her when she felt his fingers under her chin, tilting her face up to meet his eyes. Neither of them were smiling now and her breath hitched as Fred bent towards her, softly covering her lips with his own. It was different than when they had kissed that night; lighter, less urgent. And she kissed him back, resting her hand lightly on his chest while his lips danced over hers.

When they finally pulled back, their breath mingled in the cool air between them. Her eyes were bright when she looked up at him, his were darker than usual. Catching each other’s eyes they started to laugh softly, pulling back further.

“Okay.” Fred said.

“Okay.” Hermione echoed him, grinning slightly.

They parted ways then with wishes of good night, Fred turning towards the left to walk back to his flat, Hermione turning the other way to find an apparation point so she could get back to Grimmauld Place. Her lips had a familiar tingling sensation after kissing him.

\- -

When she arrived back at the house it was dark without any lights on. She assumed Harry had already gone to bed as she crept up the stairs to the floor that their bedrooms were on. In her own room she changed into the shorts and T-shirt she usually slept in, pulling her hair back into a loose braid. She stood by her bed, replaying everything that had happened and was just about to crawl under the covers when she heard a cry from outside her room.

Startled she slowly made her way to the door, holding her wand ready in her hand. The hallway outside was still dark and she let her eyes adjust before stepping out onto the wooden floors. Finding nothing in the darkness she was just about to turn back to her room before she heard it again, this time knowing exactly where it had come from.

The door to Harry’s room squeaked on its hinges as she pushed it open, holding her wand up, ready to curse whatever was harming her friend. Instead of finding a death eater attacking her friend, she found him on the bed in the middle of the room, thrashing his arms in the blankets as he yelled out again. Her heart broke at the site of him and she stepped quickly towards the bed. Reaching out to wake him.

“Harry! Harry wake up!” She shook his shoulder, feeling that it was slightly damp with sweat. He didn’t wake so she shook him harder. “Harry!” Her voice was more forceful and did the trick as his eyes sprang open.

In his just woken state he started at the site of someone leaning over him, he grabbed her wrist in his hand as she tried to pull away from him, his fear making him grip her hard.

“Harry, it’s just me. You’re alright.” She said, wincing at the sting in her arm were his fingers held her.

“Hermione?” He breathed out, coming out of his shock. “What are you doing?”

“You were having a nightmare. Why didn’t you tell me you get them?” She asked.

He shook his head, feeling his wand under his pillow. “I haven’t told anyone. Not even Ginny.”

“Harry?”

He looked up at her, seeing her fully for the first time since he woke.

“Can I have my arm back?” He looked down and saw that he still had a death grip on her wrist and released it quickly. She pulled it to her and rubbed the reddening skin, knowing it would likely bruise come morning.

“Sorry.”

She looked over at him, still seeing a twinge of fear in his eyes. Thinking for a few seconds she gestured at him, “Move over.”

He looked over at her, “Hermione..”

Raising her eyebrows at him she gave him a look that he had seen countless times from her growing up. The one that if he had known his mother, he would have expected to have gotten from her. Sighing he moved over in the bed, allowing for her to slide in next to him and rest her head on his shoulder. She was reminded of the dance that they had shared alone in the tent to the static song on the radio. She had needed comfort then, just as Harry needed it now. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and she burrowed in deeper, not bothering to talk any more. They fell asleep like that, using each to ward off the darkness of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

When Hermione woke the next morning she was momentarily confused to find herself surrounded by deep maroon blankets as opposed to the cream colored ones on her own bed. Slowly remembering the events of how she came to be here she rolled over from the edge of the bed and found Harry on the other side. He was laying on his back, eye open towards the ceiling with an arm tucked behind his head. His black hair was sticking up along his pillow and she saw the fatigue in his green eyes as he turned at her movement.

“Morning.” She said softly, wishing she could read his mind.

He smiled softly and rolled to his side to face her.

“Did you sleep?” She asked as she stretched her arms above her head. The fatigue she saw in his eyes already told her the answer but she felt like he needed to talk.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “No, not really. For a bit at first but then..” His voice trailed off as he met her eyes again.

She scooted closer to him on the bed so they were within arm’s reach. After the war, Harry had nightmares almost every night, and she found herself in his bed frequently trying to calm him down. She had experienced nightmares herself but they had become less frequent after moving to France and not having the daily reminder of what had happened to them. Ron never seemed to be affected, sleeping like a baby throughout the night, never waking to his then girlfriends or best friend’s cries in the night. At first she had resented him for never being able to comfort either of them, but then she had been jealous and grateful, knowing that she couldn’t handle having all three of them fall apart.

“Harry, how long have you been having nightmares again?” She almost didn’t want to hear the answer.

He lowered his gaze and spoke quietly, “They never actually left.”

She raised herself up on her elbow and looked at him in shock. “Harry! You told me before I left that they had gotten better.”

He rolled his eyes at her, “You really think you would have left if I told you the truth. Hermione, you needed to leave, we both know how you felt being here.”

“But Harry, you shouldn’t have been alone here.” She said, feeling immediately guilty for her absence. Leaving England had significantly helped her recover from the trauma she had suffered with the war, she couldn’t imagine how Harry had been over the past few years.

“I’ve been alright. It’s not every night. And besides,” he paused and smiled slightly over at her. “I’ve got Kreacher.”

She scoffed at the thought of the house elf who resided in the Black’s former residence being any comfort for Harry during the night. “And does Kreacher come in and sleep in your bed too?”

The thought was obviously ludicrous to both of them and they started laughing, Harry picturing the little elf sleeping next to him instead of Hermione. The idea itself was laughable, but he had to admit that knowing Kreacher was in the house at night did give him comfort.

After their laughter had died down and Hermione lay back on the bed, she looked at him again. “What do you dream about?” She asked softly.

He rolled onto his back again and looked at the ceiling. “Everything,” he said after a few seconds. Sighing, he closed his eyes as if picturing the dream. “Mostly it’s when I died, seeing Dumbledore in the station, seeing Voldemort there. I see Fred almost dying and hear you screaming when we were at the manor. Just.. everything.”

Hermione reached over and took his hand in hers, her heart breaking at the things he saw at night. “Why did you tell me?”

“Like I said, you had your own things to worry about. You and Ron gave so much to help me, I wasn’t going to ask for anything else.”

She gave his hand a slight squeeze, “You’re my family, Harry. You will never be a burden.”

They lay in silence for a few more minutes, the orange tinge of the sky outside the window eluded to the earliness of the day. Hermione felt her eyes start to feel heavy again and was just about to fall asleep when Harry spoke.

“Do you still get them?”

His voice was quiet and she opened her eyes again and watched him for a few seconds before answering. “Sometimes. Not so much when I was in Paris, but there were nights I would wake myself up screaming. I’m really thankful I’m living here with you, the thought of being on my own really made me nervous.”

He turned his head to look at her and smiled softly. “I’m glad you’re here too. I promise to be here if you need me.”

She smiled appreciatively at him and gave his hand a squeeze. “You just want me here for my coffee.”

He laughed and grinned back at her, thinking of the special French way she had learned to make coffee. “Speaking of which…”

They spent the rest of the morning sitting around the counter in the kitchen, listen to Kreacher discuss his plans for food the rest of the week, ignoring their protests of him not needed to cook. The elf had been loyal to Harry ever since being gifted R.A.B.’s locket three years ago, staying on to take care of the large house.

\- -

She had her first day off a couple of weeks after the night with Harry. Having not had much time to herself since she moved back, Hermione decided to make a trip to Diagon Alley to run some errands that she had been putting off. After breakfast she went back upstairs to the room that she hadn’t slept in much recently to change, pulling on jeans and a dark green sweater to ward off the chilly October air. She tried to smooth down the craziness of her hair but gave up when it refused to cooperate, curling freely around her face.

Harry had already left for work when she made her way to the front door, pulling on the dark blue jacket as she went. Turning on the spot she felt the familiar sucking sensation as she apparated into the Alley, coming out right across the street from Flourish and Blotts. She bought several books on healing at the store before going to Gringotts to set up a money transfer from the bank in France.

After a few hours she had made all the stops on her list and was just about to go home when the bright shop a few blocks away caught her eye. The encounter with Fred last night had been unexpected and she still hadn’t wrapped her head around it. He was her friend, one of her best friends, but she felt something more for him after that night they had together. Maybe it had opened her eyes to a different side of him, one that she didn’t view as an older brother or friend.

Thinking back, she had always found him endearing, even during school when he and George were determined to drive him crazy. And she couldn’t deny noticing his charm and good looks as she had gotten older, something she had ignored in lieu of her feelings for Ron. Conversations with Fred had always been engaging, she found over the years that even though he tried to hide it, he was incredibly intelligent, reflected admirably in his products.

His proposal last night had been a shock, yet it was comforting to hear that he was feeling something different as well. She smiled at the memory of him using her words of wanting more, and she could imagine having more with him, something that had been lacking in her relationship with Ron.

She made her way down the uneven cobblestoned street to the brightly lit shop, it stood out against the darkening, cloudy sky. The door gave a cheerful chime when she pushed it open and her cheeks stung at the sudden rush of warm air over the cold skin. It was the first time she had been in the shop since she left and she was pleased to find that it was just as bright and welcoming as it had been before. There were several new displays that she could see and she slowly made her way along the wall, admiring the intuitive products.

“Just couldn’t stay away, Granger?” A voice asked from behind her.

She turned and found Fred standing a few feet away, leaning against one of the shelves as he watched her with a slight smile. The twinkle in his eye stood out in the light of the shop and she found herself smiling back at him.

“I found myself in desperate need of a..” she glanced over her shoulder at the product she had standing in front of and laughed, finding it was the boxing telescopes that had given her such trouble before their sixth year.

Fred laughed after seeing the product, “You must be a sucker for punishment.”

She rolled her eyes at him and stepped closer, her cheeks still pink from the cold outside. Taking a glance around a thought came to her, “You wouldn’t happen to have anything for nightmares, would you?”

His brows furrowed a bit, “Not sleeping well?”

She shook her head, thinking instead of the many nights Harry had woken her with his nightmares. Her concern was beginning to grow and she had spent a fair bit of time over the past few weeks trying to find something in her books that would allow him to rest more easily.

“Not for me, for Harry.” She said quietly. She knew Harry wouldn’t appreciate her telling smeone else about his problem, but she knew he needed help.

Fred thought for a minute, running through their inventory in his mind. “We’ve got Dreamless Sleep.” He started saying, stopping when she interrupted him.

“He’s tried that. Said that he felt like a zombie all day. I’ve been looking through my books and even owled some of my professors, but I haven’t come up with anything.”

Fred looked thoughtful at her words. “I guess I don’t know of anything off hand. I’ll keep thinking about it though.”

She smiled in thanks before looking around, “I can’t believe how many more products there are. You both have really been working hard.”

He looked around the shop in appreciation, knowing how many hours he and George had put in to the shop, how many injuries they had both sustained in the process. He was incredibly proud of their success and was still in awe that this was his job, their creation. Just as he was about to say something, George popped his head out of the door separating the front store from the back workshop. Seeing Hermione, his twin grinned brightly and sauntered over to them.

He hugged Hermione and shot Fred a knowing smirk at Fred over the top of her head. “Granger, decided to finally bless us with your presence?”

She laughed as she pulled away, “I had to come and evaluate your handiwork, make sure it’s up to par.”

George put a hand theatrically over his heart, “You wound me. All products have been tested thoroughly on Fred and as you can see, he is still standing.”

“Not for the lack of trying.” Fred said, shaking his head at his brother.

“Well I’m glad you’re both still standing. The world would be a pretty sad place without Fred and George.” Even after saying the words, she realized what she had said. Her face fell as she remembered that they had actually almost lost Fred three years ago. She looked over at Fred and found that his face had darkened a touch, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think..” She shook her head.

He gave her a small smile, having not thought about the moment in question a while now. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

George put an arm around her shoulders, “Just think of all the money I would have if you weren’t around though, Freddie. All the beautiful women would flock to me.”

Fred rolled his eyes while Hermione elbowed him. Remembering the letter she had received in the mail a few days ago, she turned up to George, “Speaking of beautiful women, I’ve some news _you_ might find interesting.”

“You had me a beautiful women.” George grinned down at her.

She paused for a moment, before grinning evilly at him. “You know what? I don’t think I will tell you. Let you sweat it out for a while, keep your mind a bit more occupied.”

His mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me? You taunt me with beautiful women and then keep them from me. Granger they are my birthright. During my arrival Mum and Dad said that ‘this boy will have all of the beautiful women’.”

Fred snorted, “And what did I get?”

George barely glanced at him before replying with a grin at Hermione, “They couldn’t tell us apart so I got everything.”

Hermione laughed, she had missed the interaction between these two. A chime across the shop caught George’s attention as a couple of kids and their parents entered the shop, joining the few other last minute customers. The younger twin went over to greet the newcomers, offering some samples as they had a tendency to do near closing time.

Hermione turned back to Fred, “Do you have plans tonight?” Not having seen him in a couple of weeks, she was surprised to find how much she had thought about him.

Fred thought for a second before shaking his head. “Did you have something in mind?”

She smiled at him, thinking of her impromptu purchase this morning. “I do.”

\- -

An hour later, Fred and George had closed up the shop for the night, cleaning the back room quickly before Fred went to collect Hermione from her wanderings of the shop floor. He had changed from his bright magenta robes to a pair of jeans and dark gray sweater, a jacket draped over his arm. She smiled at him as he approached, putting down the little bottle of love potion that she had been studying.

“I don’t really think you need that Granger.” He said.

She blushed slightly, thinking back to a previous time when he had teased her and Ginny about the product. “Are you ready?”

They made their way out of the front of the shop, pausing for Fred to lock the door behind them and cast the usual wards. “Lead the way.” He said, holding out his arm to her. She took it and turned on the spot, pulling him into the sucking darkness behind her.

When they landed the bright flashing lights of cars on the street were discombobulating for a second, both of them blinking in to adjust to their setting. Hermione looked around the familiar location, not having been here since the night of Bill and Fleur’s wedding, the alley they were standing in was where she had come with Ron and Harry to change clothing.

Tottenham Court Road hadn’t changed much since their last visit, it was still bustling with people walking up and down the sidewalks.

“What are we doing here?” Fred asked as they stepped out of the alley.

“I got tickets to the theater this morning, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.” She looked over at him, “You like the theater don’t you”

He shrugged and gave her a grin, “Don’t know, I’ve never been.”

“Oh, it’s wonderful. Honestly, I think it’s the closest thing to magic in the muggle world. My parents and I used to go every year before school started as an early birthday present. We saw this play the year I started Hogwarts.” The memory made her smile but also miss her parents intensely.

Fred saw the shift in her demeanor and reached out for her hand. “They’d be really proud of you, Hermione.”

She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. “I know.” She took a deep breath, “We should probably go.”

\- -

A few hours later the emerged from the theater with Fred grinning brightly and enthusiastically waving his hands as he talked about the play that had just ended. He had clearly enjoyed it and spent the entire time in rapture, watching the performances of the actors on stage. Hermione had enjoyed watching his reaction to the story and kept sneaking glances at him during the performance.

“There is no way that this Shakespeare fellow wasn’t a wizard. No way would a muggle be able to come up with that story.”

Hermione laughed and expressed her agreement, never actually having thought about previous famous people who likely would have been wizards. Having received a muggle education up until she was eleven, she had a fair knowledge of muggle history, finding it even more interesting knowing that witches and wizards had existed right alongside muggles since the beginning.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She said as Fred continued to talk about the play.

He looked down at her with a grin, “That was really bloody brilliant. Are there other ones?” He looked up at the marquee that was flashing it’s lights above them.

She laughed and looked down at the watch on her wrist, “Yes, but maybe for another night. I work in the morning.”

They apparated back to the now empty street outside of Diagon Alley, the darkness pierced by the low lit street lamps. Hermione pulled her jacket closer to her in the chilly air and Fred instinctively stepped closer to her, offering his body heat as warmth. The closeness of him made the breath in her throat catch, she could smell the fiery scent of cinnamon wafting off of him. She looked up at him and found his blue eyes staring down at her, partially obscured in the surrounding darkness.

“Thank you for going with me, it’s much more fun to have company.” She offered, thinking of the many plays she had seen in Paris by herself.

He smiled at her, “Honestly I think I’d go every night if they are all that good.”

Hermione chuckled, picturing him in the front row of every theater performance, pure joy on his face. He really was like a kid during the show tonight, reminding her of herself as a child. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

They were standing close together and Hermione tightened her hold on her jacket. She had never felt awkward around any of the Weasley’s before, but even she had to admit that she wasn’t exactly sure what to do at this moment. Luckily Fred took charge and bent down to kiss her cheek, his lips lingering over her chilly skin for a second before he started to pull back. Instinctively she reach out and put her hand on his chest, making him pause. She looked up at him before rising to her toes and softly covering his lips with hers.

The tingling sensation that had accompanied every kiss with him returned. She felt his hands come to either side of her neck, softly burying in her hair. Their lips danced together for a few second before Hermione lowered back down, Fred’s hands still in place. He looked down at her and used one of his hands to brush a strand of hair off her forehead, “You’re making this really hard Granger.”

She laughed slightly, thinking about exactly _what_ she was making hard. He rolled his eyes at her and grinned, “And people say I have a dirty mind.”

He looked back down at her and raised a hand to her shoulder, “I don’t suppose you want to come up?”

She smiled slightly, thinking about what exactly would happen if she ‘came up’. As much as she wanted to, and as much as the memory of the last time made her knees weak, she knew that they shouldn’t. “I think I should probably go home.” She said quietly.

He nodded and smiled slightly at her, “I understand. Like I said, you’re making this more challenging that I thought.”

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze before stepping away. “Good night Fred.”

He grinned back at her, the lamplight once again catching the twinkle in his dark blue eyes. “Good night, Hermione.”


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks following Hermione and Fred’s trip to the theater were busy for the both of them, Hermione picking up extra shifts at the hospital to fully acclimate herself to the job, and Fred and George beginning their prep stage for the upcoming holiday season. Neither of them noticed how quickly the time was passing by but would catch themselves at random points in the day thinking of the other.

Hermione caught herself in one of these daydreams during her fifth night shift in a row. All of her patients had been tended to and she was sitting at one of the healer work stations, catching up with her charting, when she found her thoughts wandering to a certain red-head and how his lips feel on hers.

She still didn’t quite know how to define their relationship, they obviously liked each other, but how much of that was from the physical intimacy they had started out with. While she had noticed him in school, it never seemed to get further than a passing appreciation, but she didn’t deny that she had noticed him. And for her, she couldn’t imagine Fred had seen her as anything more than Ron’s friend and then girlfriend. He certainly had never acted like he thought of her as anything else, she thought as she remembered their interactions while at Hogwarts.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the stack of files she had in front of her, rereading what she had just written. She was on her least favorite floor of the hospital for this stretch of shifts; potions and plant poisoning. It wasn’t so much that she minded the treatment of the patients who came to this floor, it’s just that some of their presentations could be downright ridiculous. The last person that came in before she sat down had been scratched by some sort of thorn and came in with uncontrollable giggling. Even now Hermione could hear him snickering a few doors away from her, despite the sleeping draught that she had administered.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she lifted her head from the papers in front of her. Seeing a familiar red-head walking down the hallways towards her, she stood with a smile.

“Ron!” She exclaimed when he got closer to her. In the few months that she had been back in England there hadn’t been much free time for them to catch up with each other, Ron being busy with work and his family, and Hermione with work and… other things.

Her friend smiled at her and gave her a quick hug. “What are you doing here?” She asked when they pulled apart, motioning for him to take the seat next to where she had been working.

“Brought in someone up to the fourth floor, seems they had been having a bit of go with their first stunning spell, didn’t go well for the chap.” Ron said as he sat next to her, swinging the chair around.

She studied him for a second. Since their break up she hadn’t had a lot of time to spend with him. He had never visited her in France like Harry had, being busy with his work and then with Lavender. She still found it amusing that he had ended up with the blond witch who had terrorized her during their sixth year. It was hard to feel somewhat distant from Ron given the amount of time they had spent apart over the past few years. In Hogwarts they were together all of the time, albeit with periods of complete separation.

“So how have you been?” Ron asked, looking over at her. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you since you’ve been back.”

She nodded, “I know, it’s been hectic trying to settle back in to being here. I’m sorry I haven’t had the time to reach out.”

Ron shook his head, the shaggy red hair shifting over his forehead as he smiled at her. “I know you’ve been busy, don’t worry about it. Harry told me you are basically at home when you sleep or need clean clothes.”

Hermione laughed, though feeling somewhat guilty for her lack of availability to her friends. It was hard adjusting to living in Paris alone where she could operate on her own schedule and not have to think about anyone else.

“Lavender’s asked me about a hundred times to invite you over for tea.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows at this, even with the apology and changed demeanor of Ron’s wife, she still had some difficulty thinking about being friendly with the girl. “Has she Won-Won?” She said with a slight smirk that made Ron roll his eyes.

“I haven’t been called that in years. Even wrote it into our wedding vows.” He said with a grin.

Hermione laughed, “I’d love to catch up with you both once I’m more settled in. After Christmas things should somewhat normalize.”

“Well how about Sunday dinner? You’re coming to that right?”

She thought of the Weasley family tradition that Molly had started after the kids all moved away and started living their own life, each Sunday would be a congregation at the Burrow for a feast. Since she hadn’t attended one since before her move, she hadn’t even thought about going since she had been back.

“Your Mum has really been cooking for an army every Sunday since I left?” Hermione asked, feeling sorry for the matriarch.

Ron nodded, “Yeah, she loves it. Says if she cooks that much food then we’ll feel even guiltier if we aren’t able to make it.” He snorted, “You should have been there the first time the twins missed it for some business thing or another, Mum was foaming at the mouth talking about all the food they wasted.”

“Surely everyone can’t make it back every week? I mean Charlie is still in Romania and with Ginny on the road for practice all of the time.”

He shrugged, “You’d be surprised how often they actually come back for it. But for those that are on the road Mum makes special allowances for, that’s why you weren’t hounded living away. Though she almost sent you some howlers.”

Hermione cringed at the thought of getting a howler from Mrs. Weasley, having seen Ron open them at school. “Does Harry go?” She asked.

Ron’s mouth thinned a bit at her question, he glanced down at his hands. “Harry.. he hasn’t really been around too much lately.” Hermione raised her eyebrows at him and he sighed. “I don’t know, Hermione. He’s not been himself, it’s like he’s a zombie walking around in the dark. I’ve tried to reach out, we all have. But he just acts like everything is fine.”

Hermione frowned, hating to think of her friend this way. “He’s been having nightmares.” She said softly. For some reason saying it out loud felt like she was betraying Harry, like it was supposed to be a secret. She and Ron had talked about Harry all of the time when they were in school, either out of concern, fear or general affection.

“He told me they ended just before you moved.” Ron said, his eyebrows furrowed.

She shook her head and proceeded to tell him about the sleepless nights for him at Grimmauld Place and the terrors that haunted him. When she finished, she could see the sadness in Ron’s eyes.

“He’s going to go nutty Hermione.” He said, shaking his head. “I don’t suppose you know of anything that would help?”

She sighed and shook her head again. “No. I’ve looked everywhere but nothing is cropping up. Fred said he’d try and work on something but even with their imaginations I’m not to optimistic.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating their struggling friend. After everything that Harry had been through, either of them would have given anything to see him live a happy life. After a few more moments in silence Ron sighed and stood up.

“So you’ll come to dinner this week?” He asked. “Mum’ll be after you if you don’t.”

She laughed quietly and mentally ran her schedule, already knowing that she had the day in question off. “Of course, wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

The two friend’s hugged goodbye before Ron made his way back down the hallway to the stairs leading towards the entrance. Hermione sat back down and continued with her work, her thoughts wandering to Harry far more than before.

\- -

That Sunday Hermione woke early, intent on getting to the burrow to offer her services to Mrs. Weasley, hopefully making amends for the years of missed family time. After showering she dressed in dark blue jeans, a maroon blouse and loose sweater, hastily pulling her hair into a messy but at the nape of her neck. After hounding Harry for several minutes in the dining room, she made him promise to come to dinner later.

When she arrived at the Burrow, she could already smell the heavenly scent of Mrs. Weasley’s cooking wafting through the chilly air. Her mouth watered at the thought of what was accompanying the tantalizing scents. She walked through the wards and front door of the Burrow, sighing in delight at the blissfully warm air that greeted her. The living room of the home was already beginning to be decked out with Christmas decorations, a squat tree sat in the corner waiting for the grandkids to come over to help decorate it. Hermione wondered which unfortunate garden gnome would grace the tops of the tree this year.

She heard laughter from the kitchen and made her way over, stopping in surprise at what she found. Mrs. Weasley was cheerfully singing as she stirred a pot on the stove, her familiar pink apron tucked around her waist. What surprised Hermione was to find that she wasn’t alone in the kitchen, Fred was also there, sitting at the table in the middle of the room dicing up vegetables, a similar pink apron around his own waist.

At the movement at the door, Fred glanced up and met her eye. Through the singing he grinned at her before turning to his mother. “Oi! Mum! You’d better pipe down before you scare Hermione away.” He said with a wink at Hermione.

Mrs. Wealsey stopped singing and turned to Fred, “What do you mean Hermione?” She had just finished her question before seeing the brunette witch in the doorway. Her face lit up as she set down the spoon she was holding and crossed the room to envelope Hermione in a tight hug. As short as Hermione was, she always felt tall next to the stoutly Weasley, easily able to see over her shoulder at Fred who was still smiling at her.

“Oh, Hermione dear.” Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled back and cupped the girls face in her hands. “I’m so happy to see you. I was about to send Fred here to collect you if you didn’t show up.”

Hermione smiled down at the woman she considered another mother. “I’m really sorry for not coming sooner, I’ve just been so busy.”

Mrs. Wealsey patted her cheek and smiled, “No need to worry yourself dear. We understand.”

Fred scoffed from his place at the table, “When George and I miss a Sunday we get death threats, yet with Hermione its ‘we understand’.”

His mother scowled at him and walked around the table to where he was sitting. She gave his head a quick scuff and bent over his shoulder to inspect his freshly chopped carrots. “Those are too large.” She said, raising her eyebrows when Fred immediately started to complain.

Hermione laughed at the scene and put her hand on the back of one of the chairs. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Fred mouthed ‘suck up’ at her as Mrs. Weasley all but came around the table to hug the girl again. “Oh, thank you dear. As you can imagine, it takes some time to feed this lot. I’ve a recipe for biscuits at the end of the table if you don’t mind starting on that.”

Hermione took her place opposite Fred and read through the meticulously copied recipe card, watching in fascination as the little drawings next to the instruction acted out the steps. She gathered the ingredients and went to work, hoping that her mediocre cooking skills would be able to accomplish the seemingly simple recipe. She found herself at several times getting distracted by Fred’s professional-looking chopping skills, he flew through vegetables like she did books.

After he caught her for the third time watching him, he caught her eye, “Impressed Granger? Bet you never thought I’d be a cooking whiz.”

She laughed and looked down, slightly embarrassed at being caught. “No, I suppose it’s not one of the skills that I would have attributed to you.”

He tried to suppress a grin, looking at her with mischievous eyes. “Oh? And what skills would I be associated with in your mind?”

Her mind quickly flashed to the euphoric feeling of his mouth on her and she balked at him. Not believing that he was bringing _that_ up with his mother standing a few feet away, happily humming as she stirred the pot on the stove. She widened her eyes at him as he grinned at her. “Well being a major pain in the arse might be the first.” Her voice was quiet and she leaned closer to make sure Mrs. Weasley didn’t hear.

Fred laughed and went back to his chopping, occasionally looking up at her only to laugh some more. She shook her head but couldn’t help but to grin with him, he had never been subtle and really enjoyed watching people squirm.

After the biscuits were done, Mrs. Weasley declared that she could finish the rest of the meal, sending Fred and Hermione out to the living room with cups of hot cider. They both tried to protest but the red-headed witch was as stubborn as ever as she insisted they go sit down. “If I make you do all the work then you’ll never come back.” She told them as she ushered them away.

In the cheery room Hermione sat down on one of the chairs, crossing her legs up on the seat as she blew on the steaming liquid. Fred took a seat on the couch to her left, stretching his arm languidly across the back. There were strands of garland hung about the room with large red bows drooping from them. Hermione remembered many Christmas’s spent here in her youth, and it seemed like with the addition of grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had gone all out.

“Are Charlie and Percy coming back for the holidays?” Hermione asked after taking a quick sip of the still hot cider. She pinched her face at the burn on her tongue and glared down at the offending beverage.

Fred chuckled at her face, “As far as I’ve heard they are. Percy and Audrey have got their new addition that they have to bring over so Mum can go crazy over her. And Charlie as always is holding off his decision till the last minute but we all know he’ll be there.”

Hermione nodded, “I heard Percy had a daughter, what’s her name?”

Fred laughed, “Molly actually. As if one wasn’t enough.” He glanced behind her towards the kitchen to where his mother had continued her singing.

“So there’s Molly and Victorie. Did I miss any other new additions?”

“Unless someone has a secret love child I don’t know about, then now. Though we are all betting that Ron and Lav-lav will have an announcement sometime soon. It’s all she can talk about whenever she and Ron are over. How about you Granger? Any secret kids we don’t know about?” He asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at him. “No. I think everyone else is having enough for me.”

“Don’t let Mum hear you say that. Now that Bill and Fleur started it, she expects at least six from everyone.”

“Six?” Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised in shock.

Fred nodded, “Of course. If she did it then we all have to.” He grinned at her. “What? Six kids isn’t your ideal number?”

She shook her head, “Not exactly. Two would be pushing it, can’t let them outnumber you.”

He laughed at this, thinking about the miracle it was that his mother had been able to handle him and George, let alone five other kids. He still thought that she must have some hidden book of child rearing spells that got them to all behave when she wanted them to. Or she just let them run rampant and then took care of whatever damage they eventually caused.

“I saw Ron a few days ago.” She offered, taking another sip of her now warm cider. “He seems happy.”

Fred looked back over at her and nodded. “Yeah, I think he is. Bit of a surprise you remember when he came home with Lavender Brown. I didn’t think we could stand her.”

Hermione raised her brows at him, “You weren’t even at Hogwarts that year. You didn’t even know her at her worse.”

Thinking of the Lavender he knew now, he couldn’t imagine how she would have been at her worst. Granted she had improved greatly from their Hogwarts years from what he had heard, but she was still pretty clingy with Ron, not to mention her squeaky voice that for some reason drove him bonkers.

“I can’t wait to see how their kid turns out.” Fred said with a grin, thinking of a little high pitched red head, clinging onto its parent’s legs.

“She can’t be that bad still, can she?” Hermione asked just as the front door burst open and the telltale chirping voice filled the room. She cringed inwardly at the memories that the voice brought back.

\- -

A few hours late Hermione had taken refuge upstairs in Ginny’s old bedroom, her ears still ringing from Lavender’s constant onslaught of questions about Paris and all the latest fashion and gossip. Knowing that Ginny was away at training, Hermione had made some sort of excuse to depart from the conversation and slipped quietly upstairs, needing just a few minutes alone.

She hadn’t been in the room she used to share with Ginny since after Percy’s wedding the summer after that final battle. It looked the same as it had when they were teenagers, the small string lights hung about the room made Hermione remember the countless nights she and Ginny had sat up, giggling about how their lives would be with Harry and Ron. She smiled slightly at the dream the two girls once had, and how far their lives had come from it.

A noise at the door behind her made her turn, and she smiled as Fred snuck in and quietly shut the door. He grimaced at her and fell onto his sister’s bed, putting hand over his eyes. “She started talking about how you missed out on becoming more fashionable living in Paris.”

Hermione laughed quietly and went over to sit on the bed, leaning her back against the headboard. “I thought I was pretty fashionable.” She said looking down at her jeans tucked into the thick wool socks she wore.

“I think you’d need to wear an evening gown every day to be considered fashionable in Lavender’s eyes.”

“I’ll remember that next time I’m shopping. Wouldn’t want to disappoint her.” Hermione said, twirling the small ring she wore around her pinky finger.

“I wouldn’t exactly complain seeing you in an evening gown.” He said.

She looked down at him on the bed next to her and found that he was looking up at her with a slight grin on his lips. Suddenly the air shifted and they weren’t just friends, they were people that had slept together, that had chosen to be open in their relationship. She could feel her heart start to race again as they transitioned into unfamiliar territory. He shifted up on the bed until he was sitting next to her, shoulder to shoulder as they both rested against head board.

“Find anymore plays to go to?” Fred asked quietly from beside her, his eyes still holding hers.

She shook her head, “I think it’s your turn to find the activity Fred.”

He grinned, thinking just what ‘activity’ he would like to suggest to her. Just as she was about to berate him for always thinking of the inappropriate things, the door to the room burst open and Harry entered quickly. He saw the two sitting on the bed together and his brows furrowed for a second before he sat down with a thump on the other end of the bed.

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed with a smile. “Did you get chased away too?”

He groaned and fell back on the bed, “How did we not kill her sixth year?”

Hermione glanced at Fred with a sort of ‘told-you-so’ look. “Because she was Ron’s girlfriend and that would have made us bad friends. And now she’s his wife so we really can’t do anything about it.”

Harry groaned again, even louder. He had put up with Lavender for an entire year in school because Ron was his best mate, but knowing that she was going to be in their lives forever was enough to make him want to move to Antarctica.

“And just think, in two more weeks you’ll get to spend the entire holidays with her.” She said.

Harry looked over at her in surprise, he hadn’t been to the Burrow for Christmas in the past two years. Last Christmas he had spent with her in Paris and then the one before that was alone at home.

“I’m sure we could come up with something that would make this holiday season extra festive for them.” Fred said with a grin, the wheels in his brain already turning.

Hermione looked at him sternly, “No. She is part of your family, you have to be nice to her.”

Fred scoffed, “She’s part of your family too. You be nice.”

She smiled brightly at him. “Harry and I are not actually related to you lot. We don’t have to do anything.”

She and Harry laughed as Fred rolled his eyes at her, knowing that blood relation had nothing to do with the fact that they were as much a part of this family as the rest of them. Eventually they made their way back downstairs where, once again, Lavender started asking Hermione of all the different clothing and hair styles she had observed during her time in Paris. The holiday season was most definitely going to be the greatest struggle Hermione had ever gone through, Horcrux hunt included.


	8. Chapter 8

Christmas Eve morning came faster than Fred had been expecting. He and George had been working diligently in their shop over the past few weeks to keep up with the rush of holiday shoppers. The amount of puking pastels and nosebleed nougats he had made in just the past few days alone was making him nauseous by association.

When they had finally closed down yesterday, he and George had gone out for a celebratory drink.. or two. They didn’t get back until the early hours of the morning and he had to admit that the vague memories of his twin singing ‘Jingle Bells’ at the top of his lungs was well worth it. However, the pounding in his head this morning begged otherwise.

He rolled out of bed and padded slowly to the bathroom down the hall, dreading the chaotic scene they would be immersed in in a few hours. The shower only did so much to clear his head and after he had dressed, he joined George in the kitchen who had his head resting on the kitchen counter. Fred went to the cupboard where they usually had stock of Pepper-up potion, but George groaned from behind him.

“We’re out. I already checked.”

Fred sighed and leaned his head against the cabinet door, “I thought we said last time, no more drinking unless we make sure that we have some.”

“Honestly I just assumed with everything we made that it got made as well.” George lifted his head from the counter. “Don’t suppose we could nick some from Mum when we get there.”

Fred turned and rolled his eyes, wincing at the movement. “You remember how Mum was the last time we showed up hungover.”

George groaned again and dropped his head, thinking back to Christmas when they were eighteen and had received a royal chewing out from their mother. She threatened to disown them if they ever came around her house snockered again.

“We’ll just have to fake it and try to sneak it out.” George said.

Fred winced at the thought of trying to get around the amount of family members that were staying at the Burrow this Christmas, any one of their siblings would be more than happy to rat them out to their mother. “We’ll figure it out.”

\- -

A few hours later they apparated just outside the wards at the Burrow. The light dusting of snow crunched under their feet as they landed and George bent over, green in the face as he took deep breaths to compose himself. When he could move again they made their way to the front door, wincing at the loud noise they could already her emanating from the house.

The bright colorful lights strung about the room and smell of fresh pine trees was not doing anything for Fred’s condition, he thought as he finished greeting everyone and slumped down in an armchair. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, willing the room around him to fall silent.

“Celebrating a bit much last night?” A voice from beside him asked, making him jump. He opened his eyes and saw Hermione sitting on the armrest of the couch next to him. She was bent towards him slightly with a smirk on her face. He hadn’t even seen her when he had first arrived, she must have been upstairs somewhere. Her curly hair had been attempted to be pulled back in a braid, but short curls were falling out, skimming her green sweater covered shoulders.

“How could you tell?” He asked as he let his head fall back.

She chuckles and he found that even hung over he enjoyed the sound of her laugh. “Well, ignoring the face that I’ve had years of education on both magical and medical ailments. You and George are very obviously hung over.”

Fred looked over to the other side of the room where his twin was slumped down in the other armchair, mirroring his own position. At this rate their mother would be on them in no time. He looked back to Hermione who was still grinning at him.

She patted his shoulder and stood from her seat, telling him to sit tight. He watched her leave and in the haze of his mind admired how her legs looked in the tight black pants she wore. He had surprised himself those months ago when he had suggested exploring a relationship with the witch. Other women that he had dated had been more wild and unpredictable, they would start out fast and then crash and burn in the end. There wasn’t a single ex that he still kept in contact with, or wanted to keep in contact with for that matter.

There was just something about Hermione that appealed to him. She was obviously smart and over the past few years he had gotten to know a more mischievous, carefree side of her. He knew that she had dated in Paris, knew that she went out and got drunk (obviously from personal experience) and he knew that she was fiercely loyal.

After several minutes he watched her return, clutching a small green bottle in her hand. She sat back on the armrest and handed what he recognized as his mother’s personal stash of Pepper-up potion, to him.

“How’d you get this?” He asked with wide eyes. His mother guarded the potion like a hawk, as one of the ingredients was especially hard to come by.

She smiled slightly, “Told her that I’ve just come of nights and was wondering if she had anything to help me switch over.”

He gaped at her. “Hermione Granger. You just lied to my mother.”

He watched the pretty blush spread over the tip of her nose, “Yes, and I feel horribly about it. But likely not as horrible as you feel. Now hurry up so I can get the rest to George.”

He raised the bottle to his lips and took a swig of the smooth liquid, feeling the effects immediately as his head stopped it’s pounding. He sighed in relief and looked back up at her.

“Hermione I could kiss you.” He said in gratitude, seeing her eyes widen at his words. He definitely could kiss her right now, and he definitely wanted to. Knowing that they weren’t ready for their family to know about, well whatever this was, he restrained himself.

She took the bottle back from him and walked over to George and discretely handed it to him. His twin almost whooped in joy as he chugged the remaining contents, instantly brightening as he stood. Apparently he had no reservations about kissing Hermione, as he planted one on her lips, leaving the witch looking stunned. Knowing how much better he currently felt, he would forgive his twin this one time for doing something that he himself had been apprehensive to do.

Mrs. Weasley came out to the living room a few seconds later, approaching Hermione to ask if she was feeling better. The younger witch nodded emphatically, “Oh much, thank you. I’ll make sure to bring over a fresh batch next time.”

She looked over at Fred with a wink as Mrs. Weasley continued to fuss over her, telling her she shouldn’t be working such difficulty hours. He found himself in slight awe of her fearlessness in lying to his mother, something that even he and George were apprehensive in doing.

“That was quite devious.” He said to her after his mother had been distracted by Vicotrie and Dominique who had just arrived with Bill and Fleur.

She smiled over at him, “Does that surprise you?”

He shrugged, “Not really. After hearing the stories of the things you, Harry and Ron did in school, I’m surprised you weren’t on McGonagall’s hit list like George and I were.”

“Professor McGonagall would never, she quite enjoyed me. Told me so after I finished up my last year.” She smiled thinking of their old professor. “In fact, before I decided to pursue healing, she even offered me a job.”

He raised his brows at her in surprise, working at Hogwarts was considered a great achievement, though it may not have seemed so given the slew of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors they had had. “Wow that would have been great. What was the position? House elf coordinator” He said with a grin.

She nudged him with her shoulder, “No, Arithmancy actually. Professor Vector was looking to transfer to America.”

“I’m surmised you didn’t take it.” He said, looking over at his nieces who were being smothered by his parents. “The perfect student could have become the perfect teacher.”

\- -

Charlie did eventually show up, bringing with him a girl named Alina, who he worked with in Romania. She was a tall, black haired woman, standing just above Charlie who was shorter than the rest of the Weasleys, although more muscular.

Percy and Audrey were already here with their daughter. Ginny arrived later on in the day, surprising everyone with her guest of Brennan Birch, grandson of Quidditch great Brevis Birch and a Quidditch player himself. The man had a haughty air to him and would only truly interact with you if you talked about Quidditch or his grandfather, which he was only to happy to brag about. Fred tired of talking to him in about two minutes and went to the kitchen in search of a snack.

He found Hermione there, leaning against the counter and holding a cup of what looked like hot chocolate. She smiled over the mug at him as he came to stand next to him. “How is it that all of your siblings find the most insufferable partners?’ She asked. “I mean Fleur and Audrey are fine, and Charlie’s girlfriend seems lovely. But honestly, between Ginny and Ron, I may have to move back to Paris.”

He laughed. While they both had enough tact to fake pleasantness with the offending parties, he appreciated her bluntness. “We don’t _all_ have bad taste you know.” He didn’t know why but he kept trying to trap her into talking about what was going on between them, maybe because he had no idea himself.

She turned towards him. “Well I hope your taste isn’t considered bad, what would that make me?”

He turned as well and rested his hip against the counter, she barely reached his chin so he had to look down on her. “I don’t know. What does that make you?”

Her lips quirked upwards in a smile and she took a step towards him, closing the gap so they were standing quite close. She still held her mug in her hand, holding it between them so the tantalizing scent of chocolate drifted upwards. His hands itched to touch her but he kept them at his side, letting her take the lead.

“I think it makes me someone you like very much.” She said quietly, smiling as she looked up at him. The brown of her eyes mimicked that of the drink she was holding. She tilted her face upwards and her gaze flitted down to his mouth. Just as he was about to lean down to kiss her his stupid, annoying, horrid little sister burst into the kitchen in a flurry of noise and bright color.

“Hermione!” The redhead exclaimed as she pulled back from Fred quickly.

His little sister hurried over, not even bothering to register that Fred was there as she pulled her friend in for a hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much. I can’t believe that you finally moved back, who am I going to stay with in Paris?”

Hermione chuckled and gave Fred a look over the redhead’s shoulder. “Ginny you stayed with me one time and then complained that there weren’t enough boys around.”

Ginny pulled back with a bright smile, “Yes but I was right wasn’t I? You had to move back to get out of that dismal place.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend but she couldn’t help but to feel happy at seeing her again, no matter how much the girl had changed, she was still one of Hermione’s best friends. “So Mr. Birch out there is quite an interesting an interesting person.”

Ginny was the one to roll her eyes this time and she scoffed, “Oh please, he’s so stuck up. But he can be quite fun and he’s quite good in the sack.”

“Oi!” Fred said, looking in shock at his sister who had apparently forgotten that he was there.

She glared at him. “Oh please Fred, you are twenty-three years old, it’s not like you’re a virgin.” She grinned wickedly. “Or are you?”

Being focused on Fred she didn’t see Hermione blush beside her at the question, knowing quite well that Fred was most definitely not a virgin. From her experience in bed with him, she could attest to his skill level which he obviously learned somewhere.

“That, dear sister, is none of your business.” He said coolly before glancing at Hermione and exiting the room.

As he left, Ginny turned back to Hermione with a confused look on her face, normally Fred was more than happy to banter with her. “What’s his problem?” She asked.

Hermione shrugged, bringing her mug to her lips and trying to ignore the way Fred had looked at her before he left. She had no idea why he had reacted that way towards Ginny, in all of the time that she had known him, he was more than happy to share details about his personal life.

“Do you think he’s seeing someone?” Hermione almost choked at Ginny’s question.

She coughed for a few seconds as Ginny watched in concern. When she finally caught her breathe, she wiped her watering eyes. “I don’t know. He hasn’t told me of anyone. Then again I’ve been so busy that we haven’t had much chance to talk.”

“Hmm,” Ginny started, turning her eyes to try and see her brother through the doorway. “George said something about him liking someone but refused to tell me anything else.”

Hermione felt her heart race a bit, bloody George, can’t keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the rest of the family to know about her and Fred, if there even was a her and Fred. It was more that she wanted to figure out what was going on between them before letting other people know about them.

They heard a slight commotion in the next room that signaled another arrival. As all of the Weasley children were here and accounted for, it could only mean that the new arrival was the-boy-who-lived. Ginny seemed to make this assumption as well and Hermione glanced at her friend who had her brows furrowed and was chewing her lip. She knew that the girl still had hard feelings about her breakup with Harry.

“You alright?” She asked and watched skeptically as the redhead nodded and plastered a smile on her face.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? I should probably go and see where Brennan has gone to.” She disappeared through the other door in the kitchen that lead towards the back of the house.

Hermione sighed and went back out to the living room, seeking out her best friend who was in apparent animated discussion with Ron. She hugged him tightly as she joined them, kissing him on the cheek as she wished him Happy Christmas. Knowing that she had threatened bodily harm this morning if he didn’t come over, Harry had begrudgingly apparated here from the Ministry.

The three of them found seats around the fireplace and launched into easy conversation, something Hermione had greatly missed over the past few years. The other family members had started scattering throughout the house, putting their things away, helping in the kitchen, lounging on the furniture or entertaining the grandchildren.

“So I think Lavender are going to start trying soon.” Ron said, catching Hermione’s attention again.

She looked between the two in confusion. “I’m sorry? Trying what?”

Ron laughed and shook his head at her, obviously she had missed the entire past few minutes of the conversation. “Kids, Hermione. We’re going to start trying for kids.”

She raised her brows in shock and sat back a bit. It was hard to think of any of them as parents, they were only twenty-one years old. But she knew that Ron would make a great dad, an she could only assume that Lavender would fine a baby just delightful. “Ron, that’s wonderful.” She said, smiling at her friend.

He shrugged but did smile. “Yeah, I suppose. Still feel kind of young but Lavender is pretty insistent.”

Harry glanced at Hermione and they both started to laugh at picturing the insistence of Lavender Brown. Ron rolled his eyes at them, “Not like that.” He said, but was grinning along with them.

\- -

Later that night after dinner, most of the family was relaxing in the living room, while others had already gone to bed. Ginny’s lovely boyfriend had barely touched dinner, claiming he had to stay in top shape for the season, then had retired to bed right afterwards. After a while it was just Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the twins left in the room, all talking quietly amongst themselves. Hermione was sitting with her legs tucked up beneath her at the end of the couch, talking with Ron and George about their work.

The garden gnome that Mr. Weasley had trapped into being the tree topper for the year was wearing the traditional tutu and had its little arms crossed angrily over its chest, waiting for the rest of the group to leave. The tree below him was filled with homemade ornaments and dazzling lights that flickered in the darkened living room. Ginny soon left the room after yawning several times and claiming she was just exhausted, though Hermione guessed that it might have something to do with the awkwardness between her and Harry.

Soon everyone else left the living room, slowly making their way up to their assigned rooms to sleep. Mrs. Weasley still held strict rules about her children sharing rooms so Hermione was once again bunking with Ginny as well as Charlie’s girlfriend. Harry had been resigned to find he was with the Quidditch buff in the spare bedroom while everyone else had their childhood bedrooms.

The other two girls were already asleep when Hermione entered the room, Ginny snoring softly from her bed against the wall. Hermione tiptoed quietly to the cot that Mrs. Weasley had set up for her near the window and changed quickly into the tank top and shorts she slept in. She waited a few minutes for the others to hopefully, be done using the bathroom before she crept back out of the room and went down one flight.

The rest of the house was quiet around her as she brushed her teeth, taking her time to soak in the silence. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at herself in the mirror above the sink, meeting her own eyes. Her cheeks were rosy from the butterscotch alcohol she had been mixing with her hot chocolate form the majority of the day, figuring she might need something to get her through the chaos. She had cut her hair on impulse last year, and found that it was even more unruly short so she had resigned to grow it out again. Overall she hadn’t changed much since her school years, maybe her features seemed even more defined but she was still the same girl that had been staring back at her her entire life.

Sighing she turned out the light and stepped out of the bathroom, squeaking in shock as she ran into the solid chest of someone, feeling hands grip her upper arms to steady her. She pulled back a bit and looked up at Fred.

“Oh, sorry.” She whispered. “I thought everyone had gone to bed.”

He smiled down at her, “I thought so too. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s alright.” She said quietly, becoming more and more aware of his hands on her arms. When he didn’t release her she dropped her gaze to his hand before looking up at him again. The warmth from the alcohol was still stinging her cheeks and making her feel bold as she raised her own hands to place them on his chest.

“Hermione..” Fred said quietly, enjoying the feel of her warms hands on him.

“Fred.” She said and he looked at her for a few seconds before he swooped down and covered her mouth with his. She froze initially before relaxing under him, letting her hands travel upwards behind his neck, pulling him closer to her. The kisses they had shared since their night in Paris had felt more reserved whereas this one was urgent, more intense, causing even more heat to rush to her cheeks.

Fred pulled back from her and rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathing heavily. He said her name again before she rose on her toes to kiss him again, feeling a new hunger envelope her. He felt the same sensation over take him and he took a step forward, moving them both into the bathroom before shutting the door behind him. Another step and he had pushed her up against the wall, groaning as his tongue slipped past her lips.

She pressed against him and felt the obvious need for her against her abdomen. He pulled back again at the sensation and groaned, making her smile up at him. Leaning down close to her, he moved his lips to her neck, dancing over the sensitive skin until she felt she would melt under him. His hand slipped under the hem of her top to skim over her abdomen before gripping her hip.

His shirt came off easily as she pulled it over his head before leaning in to press her lips to his chest. He was broader than he had been in school, filled out with muscles and age. He bent suddenly and she felt his hands go to her bottom to lift her against him; instinctively she wrapped her legs about his waist as their lips met again.

As loud as her heart was beating in her ears, the room around them was silent in the dark, they hadn’t even bothered to turn on the light. Their movements against each other were quiet and Hermione sighed as Fred trailed his lips down to her collarbone, bringing his hand up to softly cup her breast. He grinned against her skin at the noises she was making, the same ones she had made in Paris.

She dropped her hands from his neck and reached down to pull her tank top over her head, pressing herself against him as their lips met. He was warm against her and the aching need was driving him crazy as she moved her hips against him. They broke apart and he looked at her, barely able to make out her features in the dark. He moved his hand to her cheek and ran his fingers across the soft skin and into her hair.

She lowered her legs from his waist so that she was standing on the ground again, moving her hands to his hips. “Fred, I want this.”

He nodded at her words, at her permission and slipped his hands under the waistband of her sorts, sliding them down her hips and let them fall to the floor so she was standing naked in front of him. Her own hands pulled his boxers down and she felt his erection spring against her abdomen. He kissed her before lifting her again and slowly lowering her down on to him. Her back pressed against the wall behind her as she inhaled sharply against his lips.

After a few seconds she shifted her hips against him, “You need to move.”

He grinned against her mouth and shifted his hips, using his hands to move her up against him. Their breath mingled together in the space between them as they worked together to gain friction, feeling the pressure build. As he thrust up against her, she let her head fall back with a moan, finally tipping over the edge. And as her muscles clenched around him, he followed her in release and groaned, lowering his head to her neck as his movements stilled against her.

They clung together in the aftermath of their release, Hermione’s skin felt sticky against the wall behind her. She raised her hand into his hair, his head still resting against her as he caught his breath. After a minute or two he pulled back and moved his hands to lower her to the ground, steadying her as she caught her balance.

They stood together, naked in the dark bathroom and she laughed slightly as she looked up at him. “Your mother is going to kill us.”

He laughed and kissed her forehead, “Then I’ll die happy.”

She grinned and leaned her head against his chest, both of them trying to smother their laughter in the silence around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas in July present for everyone :) Guess I should change my ratings...   
> I'm sort of winging this story so if anyone has anything they want me to write, please feel free to comment!


	9. Chapter 9

They struggled back into their clothes, pausing every few seconds to either laugh or kiss one another. This is what they had missed during their night in Paris, the aftermath of what they had done together and the companionship that came with it. Hermione stumbled a bit pulling her shorts back up her legs, falling into him and making him in turn fall against the sink. She laughed as he reached out his hand to snatch the glass that had been teetering with the impact, he caught it smoothly and looked down at her with a proud grin.

He bent down to kiss her quickly before putting the glass back on the sink. As they opened the door she was amazed that the whole family wasn’t outside the door having been woken up by their noise. However, the landing outside was empty, still shrouded in darkness as it had been before their bathroom activities. Hermione tiptoed out first and was headed towards the stairs, forgetting that Fred’s bedroom was on this floor.

He caught her hand as she reached the first step, making her turn towards him. “Don’t I get a good night kiss?”

She faltered at first before realizing her mistake and chuckled, “Sorry.” At her position on the stairs she was almost eye level with him so she easily leaned forward to kiss him, wishing for a moment they were alone in the bathroom again.

Her cheeks were flushed when they finally pulled apart, shaking her head as Fred grinned widely at her. “Good night.” She said emphatically as she turned to head back up the stairs.

“Good night, Granger.” He called softly up the stairs after her.

She glanced down when she reached the top stairs and found that he was still watching her. “Go to bed.” She whispered down to him but he just leaned against the railing. Shaking her head, she kept walking back into her shared bedroom, quietly laying down on her cot when she reached it.

Fred watched as she disappeared into the darkness, feeling the smile still formed on his face. Elated he turned from the stairs and made his way back to his childhood bedroom, trying to close the door quietly behind him. However, his efforts were pointless as George was still awake, sitting up on his bed with a book in his lap. Fred cursed, as his twin had been seemingly fast asleep when he had left the room for the bathroom a half hour earlier. George grinned at Fred as he closed the book.

“Fred.” He said in greeting. “Bathroom free?”

He glared at his twin, “It is now. Loo got backed up.”

George snorted. “I’m sure it did.” He slid off the bed and passed by Fred towards the bathroom not before stopping and turning to Fred with a grin. “Did you have to get her drunk again this time?”

Fred reached out to hit his twin but missed as George ran out of the room laughing, not bothering to consider that the rest of the house was sleeping. He fell back on his bed, annoyed but wasn’t able to keep a grin from forming on his face thinking about Hermione.

\- -

The next morning the family slowly made their way down to the living room. Victorie, being three, was only slightly aware of what Christmas meant but she was enraptured by the piles of wrapped gifts under the tree. She danced about them in her bright red dress that Fleur had struggled to get her into this morning, pausing every now and then to turn her little blond head back towards her mother, as if asking permission to destroy the packages she was eyeing.

Fred and George woke as soon as the first group of people trampled past their bedroom door. Dressing in sweatpants and a T-shirt, Fred made his way down the stairs to the living room, immediately bypassing the scene in search of something hot to drink. He went to where Hermione had kept her hot chocolate under a warming spell and poured himself a glass. The first sip tasted off and he swirled the liquid in his mouth for a second before recognizing the taste of butterscotch alcohol. He laughed under his breath at the elixir that the witch had made and poured another mug.

Once back in the living room he watched as his sister and her boyfriend came down the stairs, followed by Hermione who had unfortunately changed out her pajamas from the night before into a pair of leggings, thick socks and a sweatshirt. She grinned knowingly at him as she reached the bottom of the stairs, coming over to stand next to him. He smirked back at her as he handed her the extra mug he had poured, clinking his glass against hers as he took another swig of the laced beverage.

She snickered into her mug, knowing that with her concoction they were starting the day off right. As the rest of the family made their way down the stairs they settled onto their seats around the room, Fred sitting on the edge of the couch while Hermione squeezed between him and Harry. She had shared her mug with Harry who looked at her in surprise at his first sip. She gave him a knowing grin before raising the glass back to her own lips. The mug was passed between the two of them as Lavender opened her mouth again and started talking about how adorable Dominique was in her little Christmas outfit and how she couldn’t wait to dress her own baby up.

By the time the little kids had opened their presents (or had them opened for them), Harry and Hermione had made their way through three cups of hot chocolate. Ron kept giving them odd glances as they all but giggled together on the couch. Fred wasn’t much better as he made quiet comments to them both of new names he had picked out for the toys his nieces received.

When the little girls were finally occupied with the pile of toys, the adults were passed their presents by Bill who had hilariously been dubbed ‘Santa’. Most of them tore through the packaging of the very obvious gift from Mrs. Weasley, all of them pulling their newly knitted sweaters over their head as Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands in delight. They had all come to appreciate the gifts over the past few years and Hermione looked down happily at her green and cream stripped sweater. Fred’s had the tell-tale ‘F’ on the front of his dark gold garment which he immediately switched with George for his red sweater.

The next gift Hermione had in her lap was heavy and without a note attached, curious she carefully tore through the wrapping and opened the box she found. In the cushioning tissue paper there was a snow globe that fit easily into her hand. It was beautifully made with a metal stand and on closer inspection, she could see a miniature Eiffel tower in the middle of the scene, small figures dancing underneath the tower in twinkling light, as what looked like raindrops poured down around them. Knowing immediately who it was from, she turned from studying the gift to Fred and smiled at him.

“I love it, thank you.”

He nodded, remembering the store he had found it in during their second to last day in Paris. Not knowing that she would be leaving the city, he figured that the bobble would at least remind her of him. It played music but he would let her figure that out on her own.

He turned towards his own gifts and started on one that Hermione recognized as hers. The paper gave way to reveal a boxing telescope from their own line. Turning to her in confusion she shrugged at him with a smile, “Told you I needed one.”

He laughed and instinctively leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, not thinking about the fact that their family was not yet aware of the connection between the two of them. He heard George snort beside him and pulled back in realization of what he had just done. Hermione didn’t seem upset though and she smiled at him.

When all of the gifts were open and the kids were once again fast asleep on the piles of wrapping paper, the younger generation got up to start prepping for the early dinner they had planned. Last year they had all decided that they would be responsible for the food during Christmas in order to give their parents the opportunity to relax and enjoy the day.

The rest of the day ran smoothly, hiccupped only by Ginny’s outrage at being left out once she realized why her friends were clamoring for more of Hermione’s hot chocolate. Hermione and Fred didn’t get another moment alone together, but they stole many looks throughout the day. Fred itched to pull her into the pantry during their cooking so he could kiss her, but with the rest of the family scurrying about, the likely hood of them being caught was quite high.

\- -

A few days later, New Year’s Eve day, Hermione went down to the kitchen at Grimmauld place and was surprised to find Harry already up and sitting at the table in the kitchen. He had still been up when she had gotten back from work last night. Since Christmas he had been in more of a cheerful mood, less gloomy and she hadn’t heard him have a nightmare in the past few weeks. He even looked like he was sleeping better, less darkness under his eyes and less yawning throughout the day.

“Good morning.” She said, as she sat down across from him after getting a cup of coffee.

He smiled up at her over the paper he was reading. “Morning. Do you work today?”

She shook her head. “Excellent,” he said to her confused look. “I’ve invited people over for the New Year. Figured people could appreciate our work on the place.”

Hermione was surprised. Harry had basically been a recluse over the past year from what she had heard, so him having people over to his house for a party was shocking.

“Who all did you invite?” She asked.

“The Weasleys obviously, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson Seamus, Dean and Luna. Not too many, just wanted to catch up with people and Seamus put the idea in my head when I ran into him last week.”

Hermione nodded, finding herself actually looking forward to seeing their old school friends. She hadn’t seen any of them since she had moved away, though Luna kept her well stock with the Quiddler in Paris. “That sounds great! Though we should probably go shopping first.” She said, thinking of the sorry supply of food they had stocked in the cupboard.

She and Harry spent the afternoon at the market, gathering different foods and drinks for the evening. So far, everyone who had been invited, except Bill and Fleur who wanted to stay home with their kids, had responded excitedly, all with suggestions of music and food. Hermione thanked Merlin for he delivery services the market offered, eyeing the bags of food that they would have had to lug around with them. By the time they returned home to the house their bags had been unpacked and the cupboard and icebox were full for the first time since Hermione had moved in.

They spent the next few hours preparing different dishes, laughing together as they listened to music in the kitchen. She was elated to find her friend so joyous after her worry about him over the past few months. The way he was acting felt like they were in school again, joking and laughing with each other as if they were teenagers again.

She had gone upstairs to shower and change when everything was prepped and ready for the evening. She was tired from her week of working but the hot water helped to wash some of it away. Humming to herself she went back to her room to change, pulling on a pair of jeans and the dark teal top that Ginny had gotten her for Christmas. It was a bit more flirtatious than what she would normally wear as it dipped low on her chest and skimmed her waist, definitely more Ginny’s style, but she figured that it was appropriate for a party.

When she came back downstairs, Ginny was already there, standing awkwardly across the living room from Harry. They weren’t looking at each other and Hermione could see Ginny fiddling with the embroidery on the skirt that she was wearing. She stepped into the room and cleared her throat.

“Everything all right?” She asked tentatively.

Harry turned to her and nodded, “Yeah, fine.”

Not believing him, Hermione looked at Ginny and found that the girl was hiding any emotions as her face was blank. A knock on the door caught their attention and Harry hurried to answer it, obviously grateful for the excuse to get out of the room. Hermione went over to Ginny and put her hand on the girl’s arm.

“Are you okay?” She asked and watched as the girl’s eyes fill with tears. She hugged her and felt Ginny silently sob in her arms.

“B-b-b-rennan and I--- we broke up.” She sobbed, trying to keep her voice steady.

Hermione wasn’t exactly surprised at the outcome of their relationship. The man didn’t seem to be the most considerate person over Christmas, but she understood how upsetting breakups can be, no matter the circumstances.

“Ginny, I’m sorry.” Hermione said as the redhead pulled back to wipe at her eyes.

To her surprise, Ginny glared at her. “Are you? Because Harry just told me how everyone hated him.”

She faltered a little and blinked at her friend, not believing that Harry would have been that blunt with her. “I.. it doesn’t matter what I thought of him. You obviously liked him and I am sorry that things didn’t work out between the two of you.”

Ginny stared at her for a few more seconds before her face dropped and she nodded. “I’m sorry. I know he wasn’t the one for me, but it feels good to have someone like you, you know?”

Hermione nodded, knowing how good being wanted felt. She was just thinking this when Fred and George walked into the room. Ginny wiped her eyes quickly and turned with a smile towards her brothers, trying to be cheerful as she knew they wouldn’t have good reactions to her being hurt by a guy. However they saw through her façade.

“Birchy-poo left the building?” George asked as he took a step forward. When Ginny nodded, he nodded and looked at her seriously, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Good. I’m only going to say this once, Gin. You deserve the world, and that guy was trash.”

Despite her sadness, Ginny started to laugh at George’s bluntness. She was quickly enveloped in George’s arms and laughed even harder when Fred squeezed the both of them, crying emotionally. “Group hug!”

Hermione watched the scene with a smile, catching Fred’s eye over Ginny’s head. As Ron, Lavender and the rest of their school friends arrived, the lower floor was soon filled with chatter and laughing. Hermione loved catching up with Luna, enjoying her stories of her work with the Quibbler and of her recent interview with Rolf Scamander. Seeing the dreamy look in Luna’s eyes when she talked about the man, Hermione definitely would bet there was something more going on between the two.

The night wore on and more drinks were poured and consumed, music danced to and food consumed. Around ten o’clock, Seamus stood on one of the couches and drunkenly declared that they were going to play a game. He gathered them around and forced them all into seats, somewhat resembling a circle, before pulling out his wand and pointing it at each member of the group. A soft white light shot through each of them and Hermione felt an odd warmness spread through her chest.

“What was that?” Harry asked, suspiciously beside her.

Seamus grinned, “That my dear chap, was a truth spell. We’re going to play a little game of never-have-I-ever.”

Seeing the confused looks on the non-muggle people, he went on to explain the rules of the game and how the truth spell would keep them honest and they would glow green if they lied. Hermione had seen the game played when she was a kid but never under forced circumstances of truth telling.

Seamus sat down next to Harry and they all raised their five fingers. “I’ll go first. Never have I ever snogged a Weasley.”

He grinned as everyone but Luna and the Weasleys glared at him and lowered a finger. Luckily he hadn’t specified which Weasley so the assumptions would be her snogging Ron and not Fred. Speaking of Fred, he was watching her with amusement, almost betting that one of these rounds would trip her up.

Harry was next and he thought for a second. “Never have I ever had a one-night-stand.”

Angelina, George, Fred and Hermione were the only ones who lowered their fingers for this one. She glared at Fred as he grinned widely at her, technically what they had wasn’t really considered a one-night-stand as they had repeated it several months later.

It was her turn then and she looked about the group, trying to think of a statement that would get most of them out. Deciding that there were far too many people with all of their fingers up, she took a cheap shot. “Never have I ever played Quidditch.”

The looks she got were murderous as almost everyone except Lavender put finger down. She only smiled happily back at them, finally her lack of athletic skill was getting her somewhere.

Next was Ginny who claimed she had never had a three-some, and it appeared that no one else had had one either as fingers remained up. Then came Lavender who said that she had never had sex at Hogwarts, which given her and Ron’s behavior during their sixth year, was a surprise to everyone. Everyone laughed however, when Fred, George, Dean and Angelina all put their fingers down. Hermione knew that the twins were known for being smooth with women, but she hadn’t thought that they would have gone that far at school.

Katie, who had obviously had more to drink than the rest of them, giggled at her turn. “Never have I ever had drunk sex.”

Surprisingly enough, only Fred and Hermione lowered their fingers for this one. Fred they were expecting but a few of them looked at Hermione with shocked expressions, not thinking the prefect bookworm capable of such risqué behavior. She shook her head at everyone and took another drink from the glass next to her, not wanting to meet Fred’s eyes. They still hadn’t defined what their relationship was and without talking about it first, they weren’t about to announce it to the world.

George however, had a different idea. He had been all but bursting at the seams with his desire to expose his brother, but this was quickly shot down by a quick kick in the leg from his twin when the round reached him. Fred glared at George and some form of mental communication occurred between them because Hermione saw the look of defeat on George’s face as he went with a much safer statement.

“Never have I ever had sex in a bathroom.” Fred glared at him as George grinned, very proud of himself for finding a less incriminating statement while still getting both of them.

Hermione was down to one finger, as was Ginny, Fred, George and Angelina. She found it funny being lumped in with people she had considered much more adventurous than herself.

The next statement came from Ron, “Never have I ever been to Paris.” He had very pointed targets with this one and laughed as she, Fred and George all put fingers down, knocking them out of the game. The warmth that had been present in her chest disappeared as it sensed that it no longer mattered if she lied or not.

Seeing that it was almost midnight, Hermione stood to get the champagne bottles and glasses from the kitchen. She hadn’t even been aware that Fred had followed her until he was next to her, grabbing glasses as well. Still hearing the game going on in the other room, Fred leaned his hip against the counter top effectively blocking the path. She looked up at him, her hands full.

“What?” She asked, seeing him studying her.

He shrugged but she could tell he wanted to say something. “What Fred?” She repeated.

His eyes narrowed slightly before he answered, “So, what exactly are we?”

The question surprised her, “What do you mean?” She asked tentatively, tilting her head.

He sighed and put the glasses he was holding down on the counter, indicating this may not be a quick discussion. “I mean, Hermione, what are we to each other? We said we would be friends, then we said we’d be open to being more. Then at Christmas we were most definitely _more_. And I’m just curious how you view us.’

She bit her lip under his scrutiny and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not exactly like we laid out ground rules when we got drunk and had sex.” She sighed, “I really don’t know. I like you, more than I thought I would, which is surprising and honestly a little scary.”

“Scary?” He asked, interrupting her.

“Yes, scary. I’ve known you most of my life but I never expected to have feelings for you, let alone sleep with you. I don’t know what we are, Fred, but I also don’t think we have to define it. I’m happy, you seem happy, a title isn’t going to change anything.”

He lowered his gaze as if considering this. “I am happy. And I may have feelings for you too.”

She started to smile, “May?”

Inclining his head he grinned down at her, “Most likely.”

“So we’re okay?” Hermione asked. While she had known Fred most of her life, it still felt like they didn’t know anything about one another in a relationship sense. She didn’t want to put a title on what they had because she didn’t want to change it by defining it. For now she truly was happy, happier than she had been in quite a while. And like Fred, she was curious what they might eventually become.

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, “Yeah, we’re okay. I just want to be able to talk about this with you. This is more than sex for me, just wanted you to know that.”

She smiled at his words. “It’s more than that for me as well.”

They turned towards the living room as a loud, triumphant cry sounded out, indicating a victor had been crowned. Back in the room, Ron was standing in the middle of the group bowing dramatically. Hermione gaped at this, never thinking that she would have been one of the first ones out while Ronald Weasley won. She didn’t think she would ever live this down.

With just a few minutes left until midnight, Hermione and Fred passed out champagne flutes to everyone. Standing in a group together as George gave them updates from the watch on his wrist. When the countdown finally started, they all spoke together, laughing at the odd anticipation at the change of a single second.

As the watch of George’s wrist ticked to midnight, everyone cried out “Happy New Year!”

Lavender all but attacked Ron as they celebrated with the traditional kiss. Other people also pared off, Seamus and Dean both getting a kiss from Katie and Angelina. Surprisingly, Luna pecked Harry on the cheek which made Hermione smile brightly as her best friend blushed. Ginny stood somewhat awkwardly in the corner until Dean, fresh from his kiss with Angelina, went over to kiss her.

Fred caught Hermione’s eye with a grin before taking her hand and pulling her to him, dipping down to cover her lips with his as her free hand went around his neck. In a room full of their friends and family, neither cared about the affection the showed. She smiled against his lips as he dipped her back slightly. A second later she felt a tap on her shoulder, causing them to pull apart.

George was standing there with open arms, a huge grin on his face. “What about me Granger? No favoritism between brothers.”

She laughed and stepped out of Fred’s embrace to kiss George on the cheek. “You’re my favorite anyways, George.”


	10. Chapter 10

He found her a few days after New Year’s, leaning against a counter on the third floor of St. Mungos. He absolutely hated this place after the numerous visits they had made here during the war to visit ill or injured loved ones, not to mention his own stay here after his injuries. With the front desk nurse being less than helpful in locating Hermione, he had resigned himself to go floor by floor in search of her. Thankfully she hadn’t been on the tenth floor of the place, he thought as he glimpsed her down the hall from him.

Her hair was pulled back in a braid but she reached up a few times to tuck some escaped curls behind her ears. The scrub-type clothing she was wearing looked oddly good on her, as opposed to the stuffy appearance of the doctors he had encountered during his prior visits. The dark grey material skimmed her body and he let his eyes wander appreciatively over her lithe frame, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate being ogled if she caught him.

She was scribbling in a chart on the counter when he came up beside her, making her look up in surprise.

“Fred, hi!” She exclaimed happily, putting her pen down to hug the redhead. She hadn’t seen him since New Year’s and with their conversation in the kitchen, she had been looking forward to spending more time with him, knowing they were both on the same page. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned and leaned against the counter as well. “I’ve a proposition for you. More like an invitation actually. Not that I would actually proposition you of course, just figured this would be a good opportunity to spend some time together. Plus I have to go for work so..”

She raised her brows at his rambling and tried not to smile, “What are you talking about?” She asked.

He stopped talking and chuckled, looking down as he mentally chastised himself. Normally he was much smoother than this.

“Apparently they are planning some sort of welcome back celebration at Hogwarts for the students this year. Not sure what is so special about this year but McGonagall owled George and I to see if we would be able to set up some sort of pyrotechnic display.”

Hermione raised her brows in surprise to hear that their old professor would be searching out the Weasley twins for fireworks. She would have thought that the headmistress would have had enough of the two’s antics when they were at school there.

“Anyways,” Fred continued. “I’ve agreed to go up and set something up and I was wondering if you wanted to go with?”

Her smile faltered a bit at this. “To Hogwarts?”

He nodded and she bit her lip slightly. She hadn’t been back to the castle since the day of the final battle. There had been no need to return to Hogwarts afterwards as she passed on finishing her final years. She had taken her NEWTS a year early and passed with enough prestige to continue on with her training as a healer.

“I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything. It’s just that I want to get to know you better, get to know _us_ better.”

“No, no it’s not that.” She said with a shake of her head. “I’d love to go, really.”

He smiled down at her, “Really?”

The grin was infectious and she smiled back. “Really. Now when is it?”

The twinkle became more prominent in his blue eyes, “Tonight. Rather we’d be leaving tonight and spending the next two days there.”

Three days alone with Fred Weasley. The idea was both appealing and nerve wracking to her. Other than the dinner they had had together and their tryst in the bathroom, they hadn’t spent any time alone since she had returned to England. But she had missed out on so many things growing up, she wasn’t going to miss out on any more.

“Tonight? Well that’s a bit last minute, I’m not off for another hour and then I’ll have to go home and pack. Are we apparating?” She asked, trying to run through all of the things she would need for a weekend at Hogwarts.

Fred could see the wheels turning in her mind and smiled, she could overthink anything. “At least as far as Hogsmeade, then we’ll get in the old fashion way. I can meet you at Grimmaulds place and we can leave from there?”

***

An hour and a half later she was in her room throwing clothes into her beaded bag, trying to remember exactly how cold Hogwarts in January was. Deciding it was deathly cold, she stuffed another sweater into the bag.

A knock on the door pulled her attention away from her closet and, thinking it was Harry, she yelled out.

“Come in!” Still with her head in the closet, she tossed a pair of pajamas back behind her.

“Can’t say I’ve ever been greeted that way.” A humorous voice came from behind her.

She turned quickly and found Fred standing next to her bed, her pajama shorts and T-shirt draped over his shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were Harry.”

He pulled the items off of him and looked down at them. “You often throw clothes at Harry?” He asked with a grin.

She shook her head and stepped forward, snatching the garments out of his hands. “No, you were just in the way of my target.”

Stepping around him she shoved the last pieces of clothing into the bag before snapping it shut. “I’m ready.” She said, turning to him with a smile.

They told Harry goodbye who looked at them with a curious smile, finding the pairing interesting, no matter their stories about Fred needing additional help. He knew Hermione was happy and that’s all that mattered to him. After everything she had done for him over the years, he would give anything to see her happy.

She and Fred gripped each other’s hand as they apparated, arriving with a slight ‘pop’ in front of Zonko’s Joke Shop. With the success of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, there was a time when Zonko’s was threatening to go out of business, not able to keep up with its competitors. But it being one of the fond inspirations of the twin’s, they had done whatever they could to ensure that the beloved joke shop remain open. Eventually Fred and George had offered to buy out Zonko’s owner but keep him on to run the store.

Hermione inhaled the icy evening air and looked down the street that was currently empty without residents or students running about on the snow covered ground. The last time she had been here was the night she, Harry and Ron had returned to Hogwarts, the night they had met Aberforth Dumbledore for the first time. The place had recovered nicely after the destruction left from the war.

They started to make her way up to the castle, slipping a bit on the icy steps once they reached the hill. Even in the darkening evening air, the castle was an imposing sight and Hermione stopped in her tracks to look up at it. Fred stopped and turned back to her in question, following her gaze up towards their old school

“Have you been back here since the war?” Hermione asked, taking in the repairs that had obviously been done since that night.

He took a step back to stand next to her, “Yeah, a few times. Mainly when Ginny was still in school and with Zonko’s, not so much recently.” He glanced down at her. “Have you?”

She shook her head, “No, not since the last battle. I didn’t really know how.” It felt odd admitted her apprehension about going back to anyone. Even Harry and Ron had returned to the castle, both seeming to accept her excuses of being too busy with preparing for her move to Paris.

She sighed and looked over at Fred, “Was it okay? Being back?”

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, seeing the vulnerability behind her question. “Yeah. I mean nothing is going to make you forget, but it feels good to retake the happy memories.”

They continued to make their way up to the castle and walked across the crunching snow that was lit softly by the lanterns hanging about the ground. At the front entrance, the doors swung open just as Fred reached out his hand. The warmth that washed over them was lovely and Hermione looked up into the smiling, familiar face of Professor McGonagall.

“Professor.” Hermione said as she stepped forward. Surprisingly, the older witch swept her into a hug, something Hermione never would have expected but appreciated none the less.

“Ms. Granger,” the headmistress said when they parted. “Welcome back. I’d say it’s been much too long. Though maybe not long enough.”

Hermione felt as though the cat-like eyes looking at her were reading her thoughts, understanding her apprehension of being here. She had had the same feeling in the past when talking with Professor Dumbledore, maybe it was a headmaster thing.

The older witch then turned to Fred with a mischievous glint to her eyes. “Mr. Weasley, it’s good to know you are putting your skills to some practical use.”

Fred grinned, “I’d say our intentions were always practical, just unappreciated.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head and ushered them forward, Fred smiling at Hermione behind her back. They swept through the familiar albeit empty halls of Hogwarts, cheerily lit with the luminous glow of the lanterns that hung throughout the castle.

“Now I expect you’ll both be tired given the late hour. I thought it might be nostalgic if the Gryffindor tower was available for you both? It’s empty for the holidays so you shouldn’t have any bothersome parties being thrown.” She said with a pointed look at Fred, knowing how many ‘bothersome parties’ he and George had organized when they stayed over the holidays.

They had reached the portrait and the Fat Lady groaned at the sight of Fred. “I thought you left for good?” She asked, glaring at one half of the duo that had given her such trouble over the years.

Fred looked at the rest of the group with an exacerbated look, “Does no one remember me with fondness? I thought we were the life of the school.”

Both Professor McGonagall and the Fat Lady rolled their eyes before the portrait swung open to reveal the entrance to Gryffindor common room. Hermione and Fred both stepped through the entrance and said good night to Professor McGonagall who gave them a pointed reminder about the stairs up to the girls dormitory.

Once they were alone in the room, the fire place came to life with soft flames that immediately warmed up the chilly air. Hermione looked around the maroon and gold drapes that covered the walls and felt as she had when she first saw them at age eleven.

“It hasn’t changed a bit.” She said quietly, looking over at the chairs in front of the fireplace that she, Ron and Harry had plotted their many adventures in. Everything about this place was bringing back strong memories of their time here, most good but many bad. She felt oddly out of place after her time away.

They both made their way up the stairs on the far wall, instinctively separating to go into their respective genders dormitories. Knowing how tired the other one was, they both said goodnight, laughing as Fred tried to give the staircase to the girl’s dormitory a tentative test only to have it flatten into a slide under his feet.

Once up the stairs, Hermione found her old bed in the dorm she used to share with Lavender and Parvati. The room was exactly the same as she had left it four years ago, though at that time she hadn’t believed they would make it through the war alive, let alone coming back to Hogwarts for sleep overs with her best friend’s older brother. The thought would have almost been humorous to her if it didn’t accompany the reminders of the horrors they had faced during the war.

She sighed and changed her clothes, trying to push the dark memories from her mind as she climbed into her bunk, not bothering to draw the curtains around her. It took a while but she finally drifted off to sleep, clutching her want tightly in her hand beneath the pillow.

***

Some hours later she woke with a start, sitting quickly upright in bed as she lit the tip of her wand. The images of her dream flashed before her eyes and she took several deep breaths to calm down. Being in the castle once again was really getting to her. Seeing that she was still alone in the room, she collapsed back on the bed, bringing her hand up to rub her eyes to try to clear the images from her mind.

After several minutes of laying in the dark, Hermione sighed and swung her legs out from under the covers into the chilly air. She had definitely packed the wrong pajamas, she thought as she dug in her bag for a sweatshirt.

She made her way down the stairs from her dormitory and paused at the junction to the boy’s dormitory. Initially she had been meaning to go down to the common room like she had done so many times during school. But she turned instead, climbing the stairs up to the boy’s dormitory in search of Fred.

She had been in the dorms many times before with Harry and Ron but she had no idea where Fred would be staying. After checking several alcoves of beds, she finally saw a figure laying on one of the beds. He was laying on his back with one leg sticking out from under the covers, obviously he wasn’t as cold as she was. She approached him quietly and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to rest her hand on his that was resting on his chest. He jumped at the contact and opened his eyes, instinctively reaching for the wand at his bedside.

She leaned back and held up her hands, “It’s just me.”

He came to his senses as her features cleared in front of him, “Hermione?” He said quietly, though there was no one around to hear him. “What’s wrong?’

He put the wand back down and reach his hand out to her arm, propping himself up with his other elbow. She tried to smile but it fell short on her lips, “I couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have woken you.”

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, “No, don’t worry about it.” He looked at her again, taking in the apprehension on her face before scooting over in the small bed. “Come here.”

She paused for a second before gratefully slipping underneath the covers beside him, turning so she was on her side facing him. His arms immediately came around her and she nestled into his chest, feeling at once more at ease.

“Thank you.” She said against him, bringing her hand up to play with the material of his T-shirt. His arms tightened around her.

“Of course. Any particular reason you couldn’t sleep?”

She looked down at her fingers, trying to remember the dream that had woken her. She hadn’t had a nightmare since moving to Paris, but obviously being back in the castle was affecting her more than she thought.

“I’m not really sure." She lied, not wanting to talk about the bodies of her friends she had been dreaming of. "I’ve just felt off since being back here. You really feel fine?”

He looked back at her and reached up to run a hand through her hair. “Not entirely. I mean, it does feel a bit odd to come back to the place where we all could have died. But ultimately I love it here. It was the first place George and I felt like we were unique.”

She watched him in question, not being able to imagine them as anything other than unique. He glanced down at her and chuckled at the look on her face. “At home it felt like everyone else was doing something better than we were. I mean perfect Bill, the first born could never do any wrong in Mum and Dad’s eyes. Then Charlie who literally went on to tame dragons, Percy who, well that one’s a bit self-explanatory. Ron was best friends with the Chosen one and then Ginny, well she’s always been the gem of the family. And George and I were just sort of _extras_. Everyone else was doing something great and all we seemed to do was get into trouble, not that it bothered us much mind you.” He said, looking down at her with a grin.

“When we got to Hogwarts it was like we found what we were good at, and people appreciated it, or at least found it entertaining.”

She furrowed her brows at him, “You really think you didn’t mean anything at home?”

He shrugged and raised his hand to twirl one of her curls between his fingers. “Not that we didn't mean anything. Just that we weren't living up to expectations. And then with the celebrity of everyone else, we just sort of fell through the cracks.”

She watched his face for a few seconds, seeing that he wasn’t looking at her. “And now?”

His gaze dropped down to her and he smiled at her question. “And now we’ve made quite the success out of our uniqueness.”

She laughed at this, they truly had. She doubted anyone would have been able to predict the success that they had had, other than the twins of course, they always seemed to be so sure that they would do well. She remembered with a laugh the bet they had won at the Quidditch World Cup; even then they had staked all of their savings just to make sure their dreams came true.

After a few minutes she sighed, still not feeling ready to sleep. Fred looked down at her and pressed a finger to her nose, “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.” He raised his brows at her and she rolled her eyes. “It’s really nothing. I was just thinking of how our lives would be if things had turned out differently, if we had lost. If Harry had really been killed.”

She knew that he didn’t remember the end of the battle; he had been injured in the collapse of the wall and was unconscious for the rest of the battle. Initially Percy had thought that Fred had died and had made a giant scene screaming about how his brother was dead. However a quick exam from Madam Pomphrey proved otherwise and she had taken over caring for Fred. He had woken up a few days later in a bed at St. Mungos, with everyone telling him the war was over.

“I don’t think we would have lasted very long.” Fred said. “Voldemort didn’t have a lot of use for muggleborns and blood traitors.”

Seeing the darkening look come over his face, she wished she hadn’t brought it up. “But just think of the products you could have made for them.” She said, starting to grin up at him. “Fake noses for instance. Would have been a big hit.”

He looked down at her in surprise before bursting out in laughter. “Poor Voldy without a nose.” He said after a few seconds. 

He shook his head at her and leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead. “Who knew you’d have such a dark sense of humor.”

She laughed and tilted her head forward to rest against his chest, dissolving in giggles as he started to laugh with her. The image of Lord Voldemort with a fake nose and attached mustache was enough to chase away any nightmares she may have had today.

After a few minutes of them laughing together she finally went quiet and pulled back to look at him with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here. Or I guess I’m glad you invited me. Coming back with Harry or Ron would have been just morbid.”

Fred smiled back at her, “Of course.”

“You don’t think McGonagall is going to do a bed check in the morning do you?”

He chuckled at the thought of the older witch finding him and Hermione, squished together in the small bed. “I would hope not. However she did only warn about the girl’s dormitory. Probably thought you were too much of a prude to sneak in here with me. I must admit even I feel quite scandalized.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Right because this is definitely the most scandalous thing we’ve done together.”

His grin grew wider and he propped himself up on an elbow so that he was above her. “We could make it even more scandalous.”

She had to bite her lip to keep from smiling as she raised a hand to his cheek. “I think we should probably just go to sleep, especially if we’re getting up to play with fireworks tomorrow.”

He sighed and smoothed back her hair, “Once again you’re probably right. One can dream though.”

She laughed and tucked herself against him again, feeling his arms come around her again as he settled back down onto the bed. She could feel his breath tickle the hair on the top of her head as she moved closer to him, breathing in his cinnamon scent.

“Hermione?” He said after a few minutes.

She hummed against his chest, feeling herself fall closer to sleep. “Hmm?”

He paused for a minute and pressed a kiss on her hair. “I’m glad you’re here with me too.”


	11. Chapter 11

She woke the next morning feeling too warm, something that was quite uncommon for her as she always seemed to be cold. As she tried to roll over in bed to seek a cooler portion of the mattress she felt arms tighten around her and remembered exactly where she was. When she opened her eyes, she found that she was tucked up close against Fred, her face all but buried in the shirt covering his chest. She could feel the heat radiating off of him and she started to shimmy backwards, trying to get some cool air.

Her movement must have woken him as his eyes started to open and she froze, feeling a bit awkward now that they didn’t have the cover of darkness. They had never spent the full night together other than the chaotic one in Paris, and even then they didn’t have the opportunity to have a morning together. After sleeping squished together in the single bed, she could only imagine how she looked.

After a jaw-cracking yawn, he looked down at her, smiling softly as he closed his eyes again. “Morning, Granger.”

She huffed a bit at the name, never understanding his and George’s insistence on using her last name. “Good morning.”

Still feeling flushed from the warmth, she started to wriggle away from him again. He opened his eyes and looked down at her in confusion, “What are you doing?”

She looked at him, somewhat annoyed. “It’s too bloody warm. You’re like a heater.” She blew some of her stray hairs off of her face and reached around her to lift his arm up off of her.

He laughed and noted her flushed cheeks. His arms moved away just as she pushed at him, effectively pushing herself off the bed without him holding onto her. She fell backwards off the bed with a yelp, flailing her arms a bit before landing on her back on the hard wood floors. Her legs were still tangled in the sheets that she had pulled off the bed with her. She lay there for a second before starting to laugh, shifting slightly and drawing in a sharp breath against the pain in her backside.

Fred moved quickly to the edge of the bed and looked over to see her laying on the floor. He tried to smother the grin on his face but the laughter in his voice was most definitely present when he spoke. “That’s twice now you’ve all but leaped out of bed with me. I’m not that bad you know?”

She smiled at this and opened her eyes to look up at him. “Glad to see you’re so concerned for my welfare.”

“Trust me Granger, you’re not the first girl to fall out of bed in these dormitories.”

She raised her eyebrows at him and he laughed and shook his head. “No, not me. Lee however, was quite the Casanova in school. Must have had half the girls in Gryffindor in his bunk.”

“That’s horrid. Though not entirely surprising.” She said, thinking back to the many rumors that swirled around the school about Lee as well as the twins. “You know, you and George had quite the reputation in school as well.”

He scoffed and swung his legs out of the bed to stand. Reaching down he took her hands and helped her to her feet, pulling a little too hard so she bumped into his chest as his arms came about her waist. “That was all George. Everyone knows I’m a saint.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned back a bit, “I’ve got personal testimony from Angelina to the contrary.”

She remembered the stories the older girl had told them all during one of the many ‘sleepovers’ that occurred in the girls dormitories. Hermione always tried to drown out the more graphic details of Angelina’s stories, not wanting to picture someone she had known for years in that particular compromising situation.

Fred’s smile dropped a bit at this. “Hermione, Angelina and I were never together, in any way. We went to the Yule Ball but it was as friends. Nothing ever happened between us, certainly not anything for there to be any stories. And as far as I know, she and George were never together so there’s no way she could have been talking about him.”

She tilted her head at this, not that she didn’t believe him, but Angelina had been quite descriptive. “She named you specifically. You mean you didn’t have crazy wild sex on the Quidditch field before you and George left your last year?”

“What? No, not at all. I mean I definitely was a bit promiscuous but it was always in good taste. And never once with Angelina.”

She furrowed her brows, wondering why the older girl would have told such detailed stories about her and Fred if it never actually happened. Shrugged she looked back up at Fred. “You’ll have to ask her about it.” Wanting to diffuse the tension, she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Either way, we should probably get going if we don’t want to miss breakfast.”

He nodded, still obviously thinking about the apparent rumors about him. Hermione squeezed his hand before leaving the dormitory, making her way back to the other side to change for the day. After a quick shower, she unpacked some of the clothes from her beaded bag, finding it a bit odd not having to wear her school uniform while she was here. Instead she settled for dark blue jeans, grey and white striped shirt and pull on a dark green flannel to ward off the slight chill in the air. Knowing that they would likely be setting the fireworks up outside, she grabbed the dark blue jacket she had packed. After pulling on her boots, she ran a hand through her messy hair and glanced quickly in the mirror before heading down the stairs to the common room.

Fred was already waiting for her, dressed similarly casual in jeans and a dark grey long sleeve. He had a large brown bag slung over his shoulder, which Hermione could only imagine, held the massive amounts of fireworks they would need. Her words earlier about Angelina were still bothering him a bit but he smiled when she came down the stair.

“No jacket?” She asked.

“We won’t be outside for too long.” He said with a shrug before they made their way down to breakfast.

Professor McGonagall found them at the end of the meal and she and Professor Flitwick described what they were looking for. Apparently, it had become a tradition to have a celebration of sorts at the return of term after the holidays; McGonagall felt that it helped ease the students back into their studies better. Fred laughed at this, thinking of his own hatred of coming back to school after Christmas and New Year’s.

After jotting down a quick description of their wants, Fred and Hermione left the great hall. He hadn’t exactly detailed his plan to her but he obviously had prepacked the fireworks. She simply followed him, shivering as they went through the front doors of the castle to stand in the square outside. She pulled on the jacket she had brought and smirked as Fred shivered at the cold air that greeted them out in the courtyard. He shook his head at her and pressed closer to her side for warmth, both of them turning to look up at the castle before them. It had started to snow a bit and the flakes swirled around them from the sky.

“What are we doing?” She asked, breathing on her bare hands for warmth.

He was shading his eyes against the brightness of the snow as he looked up at the towers towards the front of the castle. “Just assessing our launch point.”

She looked upwards and wondered exactly how they would be getting up to such points. Just as the though entered her mind she caught site of a broom drifting towards him, widening her eyes as she realized his intentions. He caught the broom easily in his hand and turned to her with a wide grin. She held her hands and shook her head as she stepped away from him.

“Absolutely not. Nowhere in my contract did I agree to flying.” She said, eyeing the broom like it was a snake about to bit her.

He chuckled and took a step towards her. “That’s because you haven’t flown with me yet. From what I’ve heard, your flying experiences have been quite the ordeals, not the lovely smooth ride of a broom.”

She shook her head and turned her eyes up to look at his mischievous face. True, her main flying experiences had been on a hippogriff, a thestral and a dragon, but she didn’t enjoy the sensation in the least and had no desire to expand her repertoire with a broom. In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had tried to ride a broom, it honestly may have been first year flying classes and she remembered with disdain that it was the only class she had received low marks in.

“I am not going to get on that broom, Fred Weasley. I don’t like flying, never have and nothing you can do will ever make me. Forget it.”

He stopped his advance at the warning tone in her voice that tried to cover up the underlying fear and nodded at her, knowing that her fear was beyond teasing and he needed to respect that. He remembered all of the teasing she received from his brother growing up about her fear of flying, how many times he had tried to force her to get on a broom. Starting to feel bad about his actions he smiled warily at her and mounted the broom himself. “It’s alright, I’m not going to force you. You can be a spotter from the ground.”

She looked at him apprehensively, remembering her own memories of Ron teasing her incessantly about her fear of flying. However, realizing that he wasn’t going to push further, she smiled in appreciation, feeling her racing heart calm down a bit. “What do you need me to do?”

He kicked off to hover off the ground a bit, the wind swaying him in the air. “Just point me towards the spots that McGonagall was talking about earlier.” And with that he pulled the broom handle upwards, shooting up into the chilly air, leaving Hermione on the ground watching him.

The wind whipped around him and he gripped the handle tightly, feeling himself get pushed to the side a bit. He continued to rise higher to be level of the turrets of the castle, some 70 feet above the courtyard below. Looking down he saw that Hermione was gesturing with her hand to the right. He swooped over to the turret she indicated and leaned close, steadying himself on the cold stone as he rummaged in his bag for the correct firework.

Hermione watched from below as his broom swayed a bit in the wind and felt a knot tighten in her stomach. There was a reason she didn’t like flying and it was called falling. She watched as he placed the first bundle of fireworks, nestling them close to the stone to keep them in place.

After placing the first bundle, he made his way to two more alcoves, grateful these were more shielded from the icy wind that was sending chills down his spine. With the final bundle he had to make his way around the edge of one of the castle towers, directly in the line of the wind and snow coming down, a bit harder than before. The first gust of wind that met him as he rounded the corner took him by surprise and he gripped the handle tightly, feeling his heart pick up in speed a bit. He had flown in horrid conditions with Quidditch but never without the assurance that he wouldn’t fall to his death without the protection of skilled professors around.

As he reached into his bag to pull out the final bundle, his other hand slipped a bit on the frost and snow that had collected on the handle. In his flurry to catch himself, the broom lurched to one side and he felt a strong gust of wind push him into the flat stones alongside him. The jolt from the impact loosed his hand from the broom and he slid sideways off of the broom, reaching blindly for the stone wall in his panic.

The flat wall didn’t allow anything to grip onto and he felt the broom slip from beneath his legs, cursing loudly as he began to fall. Hermione watched from below with a cry of shock as Fred was knocked into the wall and lost his seat on the broom. Her hand flew to her mouth as he fell a good ten feet down the flat wall before finding a grip on a spire above one of the windows of the castle. He hung there, feet dangling in thin air.

He stopped his descent and hung tightly to the cold metal, feeling it creak a bit under his weight. Taking a sharp breath, he looked at the metal and held very still for few seconds, mentally willing it to stay in place. When it didn’t move he happened a glance over his shoulder, looking down to the ground at least sixty feet below him. He didn’t even see where the broom had fallen and didn’t dare release his grip to pull out his wand to summon it. Suddenly he understood Hermione’s fear of flying quite well.

As she saw Fred dangling so far above her, Hermione started to feel a different fear rise up in her. He was too far away for her to levitate him and there were too many obstacles for a cushioning charm to do him any good. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she looked around, trying to think through the extensive magical knowledge she had accumulated for something that would help him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Fred’s fallen broom for the first time, having not even paid attention to it as it had fallen away from him just moments before.

Glancing back up at him, she groaned and ran over to pick up the heavy broomstick, shakily mounting it and trying to remember what Madam Hooch had told them when she was twelve. She gripped the handle tightly, trying to ignore the stinging cold on her fingers, and kicked upwards. When nothing happened, she swore and looked up at Fred again, determine she kicked up again and felt the broom catch beneath her. The snow was falling harder now and several flakes covered her hands quite quickly. At least if they both fell there would someone of a cushy landing.

She let out a shaky breath as she gently pulled on the handle, watching fearfully as the ground below her got farther and farther away. The wind whipped around her the higher she rose and she found herself gripping the wood tightly to try and keep the broom steady.

A sharp gust of wind almost unseated her and she stopped her ascent, crouching over the broom to keep her balance. After taking a few deep breaths she quickly urged the broom higher, keeping Fred in her sights the entire time. The closer she got the whiter his knuckles seemed to be as they gripped the spire. Taking care to keep close to the stone walls she finally found herself coming alongside him. He looked over at her in surprise when she awkwardly pulled the broom to a halt.

“Imagine seeing you here Granger.” He laughed shakily, trying to cover up the fear in his voice.

She glared at him and yelped as another burst of wind hit her, panicking even more as she looked towards the ground that was looming so far below them. Her hands would have been shaking if they hadn’t been in a bone white grip of the handle of the broom.

Fred watched her face as she looked towards the ground, finding it oddly ironic that she was more panicked than he was. He knew she needed to calm down otherwise they would both be on their way down. “Hermione.” He said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. The pain in his hands was getting worse and he could feel the metal periodically shift under his grip.

When she didn’t look up at him he repeated himself, louder this time. “Hermione look at me.”

She glanced up at him, her hair flurrying about her face in the wind and he could see the whiteness of snow in her hair. Coming to her wits at the sight of him, she inched the broom forward, so that the handle was right next to him. She didn’t dare reach out to him as any small movement seemed to jar her.

“Can you get on?” She asked loudly over the gust that hit them.

His head went between his arms as he looked down to the long drop onto the courtyard below him. Seeing the height he thought briefly that he may just want to hang here the rest of his life as opposed risking a broom transfer. He would make quite a fetching gargoyle.

“I think I can manage that. If you can turn the broom around and move forward, I can drop behind you.”

She looked at him apprehensively and he nodded at her, trying to look encouraging. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the broom back to make a circle to come up around him. Her cheeks stung against the cold as she came up beside him again, this time the opposite way. Not wanting to turn at all, she yelped sharply as the broom tilted when he swung a leg over the back. As Fred felt the broom under him, he took a deep breath and let go of the spire, twisting in the air to land right behind Hermione. He swung his arms around as he landed to grip the icy wood.

The broom lurched below them and Fred tried to grip as much of the broom as he could reach in front of her. She cried out as she lost her balance at the sudden movement and slid forward, but was kept in place by his arms tightening around her. After a few more minutes of adjusting, they were finally steady together on the broom and he noticed that they were slowly dipping lower to the ground. He breathed out a sigh of relief as they got closer to the ground below, letting out a hoot when he felt his feet touch the ground.

He pressed a kiss to the back of Hermione’s head, only to notice that she was shaking against him. Knowing they were securely on the ground he slid off he broom and came around to face her, his legs still feeling like jelly with the residual adrenaline.

Hermione’s face was as pale as her knuckles that had a death grip on the broom. She had her eyes closed and was shivering when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hermione? Love, it’s alright. We’re on the ground.”

She didn’t answer him and he put his hand over hers on the broom. “You can let go. We’re okay.”

He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and let out a long breath. Her hands twitched under his and she painfully released the broom handle, greatly aware of how tight she had been gripping it. When she finally let go and leaned back on the broom, Fred’s arms came around her and pulled her off the broom so that her feet were touching the ground again. She was tense in his arms initially but then relaxed, pressed close to him as her arms gripped him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her press her forehead against his chest. The amount of relief he felt at the moment was intoxicating.

Suddenly she pulled back and hit out as his chest, feeling anger bubble through her own emotions.

“Whatcha!” He said, rubbing the spot on his chest as she glared at him. “What was that for?”

“You complete arse!” She said angrily, pushing him again. “You could have died! Why didn’t you come back down when you saw how windy it was?

The anger fumed through her, clouding her thoughts as she thought about the pure fear she had felt watching him dangle above her. In the back of her mind she knew that she was reacting irrationally. She knew it wasn’t his fault entirely but the anger she felt was quite real.

Fred furrowed his brows at her and looked confused. “It’s not like I did it on purpose.” He said, trying to keep his voice calm.

She threw up her hands, “Well I would bloody hope not. Merlin Fred, do you have a death wish or something? It was hard enough thinking you were dead three years ago, let alone watching you mangle yourself on a damn broom.”

He had never seen Hermione this angry before, then again he hadn’t been around much when she, Harry and Ron were in more precarious situations. He took a step towards her. “Hermione we are both fine. You saved me. You were here.”

“But what if I wasn’t here Fred? What if we were both up on that broom like you originally wanted. I swear it’s like sometimes you don’t think about anyone but yourself. Are you trying to kill yourself?” The anger bubbled over finally and the words left her lips before she could stop them. She didn’t feel that way, knew he didn’t feel that way. Her face fell at her words and Fred narrowed his eyes at her.

She looked at him for a few seconds before turning quickly on her heels and walking across the snow covered ground towards the entrance, leaving Fred standing in the middle of the courtyard.

He watched her disappear into the castle, feeling both confused and hurt at her words. He didn’t necessarily consider himself reckless, but he most definitely took risks, it was part of who he was. He hadn’t even been thinking about the possibility of things going wrong up there, telling himself he had flown in worse weather plenty of times. He hadn’t been scared, or concerned in the slightest.

And this had put his life in danger, as well as Hermione’s, he thought suddenly. She was obviously terrified of flying and yet she still got on the broom to save your ass, he berated himself mentally. She had every right to be angry at him.

The wind rushed around him again and brought his attention back to his surroundings. Sighing he picked up the broom and followed Hermione’s footprints into the castle. No more than an hour could have passed since they had initially come out. Once inside he saw Professor McGonagall rushing towards him.

“Mr. Weasley oh thank goodness. Ms. Granger has just told me what happened. Are you injured?” She asked in concern, looking him over.

He waved his hand in the air, “No, professor, I’m fine. Just a couple scrapes.”

Her demeanor changed at hearing this and he could see a sharpness in her eyes. “Then what exactly were you thinking? You’re an experienced enough flyer to know better than to go that high with the wind the way it was.” Her voice was as sharp as Hermione’s had been.

“Your family thought they lost you already Fredrick. I don’t plan on sending you home in a coffin.”

He ran a cold hand though his hair and looked over at her. “Professor, Hermione’s already laid into me. I understand that I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.”

She looked surprised at his words. Fred Weasley had never been one to admit he was wrong, and she hadn’t expected him to start any time soon. In fact she had never heard him apologize in the past as he always had some sort of witty explanation or comeback. Hermione Granger must have really gotten to him.

“Well then, Mr. Weasley. I expect you go find that girl before she leaves. She was saying something about clothes when she left me.”

Fred startled at this, he knew that she was mad but hadn’t expected her to leave entirely. He shot a grateful look at Professor McGonagall before brushing past her, picking up more speed as he weaved his way through the halls to Gryffindor tower.


	12. Chapter 12

When he got to the common room, he made his way without thinking to the girl’s staircase, taking a few steps before feeling them slide out from under him. He caught himself with his hands before sliding down to the landing again. Feeling frustrated he looked up towards the open door of the dormitories, as a student he hadn't minded the enchanted stairs that kept boys out of the girls side, but now they were quite the inconvenience.

“Hermione!” He called out, hoping that her bed wasn’t as far back in the maze of alcoves to where she couldn’t hear him. “Hermione please come out here.”

He waited a few minutes and was just about to attempt the stairs again when she appeared at the top of the landing. Her face was still stony as it had been when they were outside.

“What?” She asked as she leaned against the banister, not appearing to have any desire to come down the stairs to meet him.

“Look I’m sorry. “ He said, looking up at her. “I should have known better, I really should have. I put you in danger and I am really sorry about that.”

She watched him as he spoke, trying to not picture him hanging in the air above her. Trying not to picture the other time she had thought him dead. “You don’t seem to understand.” She said finally. “Your entire family thought you were dead during the war. You didn’t see the way they reacted, the pure, raw horror they felt.” She paused and swallowed hard, “ But I did. I was there with them Fred, I felt that grief myself and watched your mother cry over your body.”

His heart raced as she recounted the memories he didn’t remember. She didn’t even seem to be looking at him as she went through his family’s worst nightmare.

“You almost died that day and yet you still continue to take risks like you did earlier. You have no idea how heartbreaking it was to see your family like that, to see George like that.”

He thought of his brother and how protective he had been after he woke up in the hospital. Knowing just how much George’s death would affect him, he immediately understood what Hermione was talking about. He looked up at her again, willing her to come down the stairs so they could speak face to face.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about what could happen.” He spoke seriously, knowing that she was truly upset about this. All his life he had been a risk taker, but the war reminded everyone that life was fleeting, easily lost in a moment of stupidity.

She watched him for a few more seconds before sighing and starting down the stairs. When she reached him they stool apart as Fred met her eyes.

“I’m not angry.” She said finally, though admittedly she felt a little angry. “You just scared me. I don’t want to have to be the one to tell your family that you aren’t coming home. That’s not something that I could handle right now.”

He nodded and reached for her, grateful that she came easily into his arms. The final traces of chill left his body as she pressed against him, resting her cheek on his chest. After a few moments of standing together, he pressed his lips to her hair and spoke. “You’re a fair flyer, you know.”

She chuckled and leaned back to look at him. “You’re impossible.”

He grinned at her and ran a hand through her hair. “Were you really going to leave? McGonagall said you were getting your clothes.”

Hermione laughed and shook her head. “I told her that I was going to change clothes. Mine were quite damp from the snow.”

He looked down and noticed now that she had indeed changed clothes, her outfit from earlier replaced by a different pair of jeans and a grey and blue sweater. He could feel the dampness of his own clothing and knew that there was a bit of grime from his slide down the walls of the castle. His attention came back to her as she fiddled with the material of his shirt.

“You might need to change too.” She said, glancing up to look at him.

He sighed and nodded, not wanting to let her go just yet. The window next to them showed the sun starting to peak out through the cloudy sky, beams of it falling over them. The light picked up the flecks of gold in Hermione’s eyes, reminding Fred of the amber color of Firewhiskey and the depth of them was just as intoxicating.

She noticed his change in demeanor and took a step back, letting her hands fall to her side. “I think I’ll go find McGonagall to let her know I am indeed staying.” She felt nervous for some reason, like the events from the day had opened up some of the previous anxiety she had felt during the war.

Fred nodded reluctantly and parted ways with her, going up to change his clothes while she slipped out of the common room in search of their head mistress. He watched her leave and immediately felt bad again for the stress he had caused her. Not just with him almost falling to his death but also with her having to face her fears and ride a broomstick. The thought of the terror she must have been feeling being that high up made him feel even worse when he remembered their ride together. She likely would never get on a broom again now.

***

An hour later Fred found Hermione in discussion with Neville Longbottom, the new herbology professor at Hogwarts. He had taken over for Professor Sprout a year ago after she decided to retire to Brazil to continue studying the magical plants that grew wild in the Amazon.

Neville had changed quite a bit since school, Fred observed as he approached the two of them. He was thinner than his previous fluffy state, more lean and muscular than Fred remembered and looked quite scruffy with the stubble that had grown in on his chin. He and Hermione were bent over a book in the great hall, bottles of what looked like butterbeer sat in front of them.

“Fred!” Neville greeted him cheerily when he reached them. The younger man stood and shook his hand. “How’ve you been? McGonagall told me you two would be here for the start of term.”

“Neville.” Fred said in greeting, meeting Hermione’s eyes as he sat down across from them. “I’ve been good. How bout you?”

Neville shrugged, “Can’t complain I guess. Though I must admit it’s been different being back at Hogwarts without everyone around. I was pretty excited to hear you two would be back for a bit.” He leaned in closer between the two, “Though these dodgy old bats get pretty rowdy during the holiday’s I’ve found out. Always wondered what they did without students around.”

Hermione laughed beside him while Fred grinned, both of them picturing the raving parties Professor McGonagall was throwing in the headmaster’s office. Movement on the page of the book in front of them caught Fred’s eye and he turned his head to try and get a better look.

Noticing his inquiry, Neville spun the book towards Fred. “It’s a photo album. I started one back in second year and have been adding to it since. Most of them are from Hogwarts but I’ve got a couple of my gran so just ignore those.”

Fred grinned seeing one such photo on the front page. He remembered hearing about the elderly witch, more specifically her outfits that had once been projected onto Professor Snape during a lesson with a Boggart.

He flipped through the pages, seeing the faces of his friends looking back out at him. There were several moments Fred remembered quite well; Gryffindor winning the house cup, the tasks during the triwizard tournament, and several of them just sitting about the common room.

One picture caught his eye and he stopping turning to pages to look at it. It was taken during his last year at Hogwarts. The photo showed the members of the DA, all gathered together and turning to the camera with smiles. Fred scanned the familiar faces until he found him and George standing near the middle of the group. Everyone was grinning widely and surprised, Fred found that he had his arm rested over picture Hermione’s shoulders.

It was odd to see a moment documented like this when he didn’t even remember it happening. He glanced up as Hermione leaned across the table to look with him, reaching out to touch the moving picture.

“I remember this.” She said, looking back at Neville with a grin. “You should send it to Harry as a reminder, I think he got his first kiss after this was taken.”

They laughed over the rest of the photos, telling stories about their reckless adventures, both he and Neville surprised with the stories Hermione told about the trio’s time at Hogwarts.

“Wait, hold on.” Fred said, after the latest of Hermione’s stories. “You mean to tell me that you and Harry turned back time to save Buckbeak and Sirius? You, at fourteen years old were trusted with a rare piece of magic, _just to attend more classes?_ ” He asked in exacerbation.

Hermione shrugged. Now that she was older she realized how much privilege she had been trusted with that year. “I needed it.”

He shook his head at her, thinking off all of the things he would have used the time turner for, none of them included attending more classes. He and George would have been able to stock up for their shop much sooner than they had that last year, though he must admit how proud he was of their grand exit.

“So are you staying for the welcome tonight?” Neville asked, thinking of the arrival of the students this afternoon and then the party afterwards.

Fred glanced at Hermione who wasn’t meeting his eye, he still wasn’t quite convinced that she didn’t mean to leave. “Yeah I suppose we’re staying. Still got one more thing to place before the fireworks will be ready.” He had forgotten initially that he didn’t even get that last bundle of fireworks in place before he fell. Hermione wasn’t going to be happy about that.

A bell rang softly above them indicating the return of the students. Neville stood. “Well I’ll see you both later yeah?”

They nodded and watched him retreat in the direction of the Hufflepuff dormitory, ready to great his house students back. Fred turned back to Hermione across the table. “Are we okay?”

She met his eyes and nodded. “Of course. Just try not to die will you?”

He grinned back at her and nodded. “I think I can do that.”

They were able to easily get the other pack of fireworks up to the level they needed, as the weather had calmed down quite a bit and the snow had stopped. Hermione glared after him as he once again rose into the air on the broom, threatening to perform a sticking charm on him this time.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the castle and it’s grounds, going over all of the memories the place invoked, both good and bad. As they reached the edge of the grounds, Hermione saw a light on in Hagrid’s hut which was a surprise considering Professor McGonagall had told them Hagrid was in the mountains visiting Grawp for the holidays.

The large door of the hut swung open after a few knocks from Hermione, revealing the scurffy, lovable half-giant towering over them. He was exactly as Hermione remembered him and he exclaimed with excitement at seeing his visitors. “Hermione! Fred! What’re you doin’ here?”

He wrapped Hermione in a strong hug and looked on the verge of tears at the site of them. After being ushered into the hut Fred told the story of why they were back at Hogwarts, and Hagrid in return told them of his own visit.

“He’s grown a bit since you last saw him Hermione.” He said, addressing his already twenty foot tall brother. “I can’t believe how long it’s been. Near three years since I last saw you.”

Hermione internally flinched at this. She hadn’t even thought about the people left at Hogwarts who she would be leaving behind when she decided not to come back. Hagrid had been one of her closest friends at Hogwarts and she felt guilty about not visiting him. He waved off her apology with a knowing look and instead asked about Harry.

“How’s he doing? Last time he came by he seemed a bit worse for wear.”

Hermione nodded and told him of their friend, how he apparently had been struggling since the war. She expressed her doubts and frustrations at not being able to help him. On multiple occasions she had suggested that Harry seek professional help but he just brushed her off, claiming it wasn’t all that bad.

Hagrid listened to her talk, nodding every now and then at her observations. “Well you tell him that he is always welcome here if he needs a break.” He said at the end of their conversation.

The continued their conversation over the tea that Hagrid had brewed, listening to his own recounts of the stories Hermione had told Fred throughout the day. It wasn’t until several hours later before they all realized how late it was. The light outside of the hut had faded into darkness and Hermione and Fred stool to leave, Hagrid assuring them he’d be up later to join the celebrations.

They reached the front courtyard and were immediately immersed in the bustle of students, all laughing and talking amongst themselves while music played around them. A warming spell had been cast so the area outside was just as warm as the inside, causing the snow to have melted from the stones below them.

Professor McGonagall found them easily in the crowd. “Mr. Weasley, there you are! I think we can go ahead in a few minutes if that’s alright?”

Fred nodded at the older witch. He tugged on Hermione’s hand and pulled her back into the castle with him.

“Where are we going?” She asked as they made their way up the stairs.

“Well we need a good vantage point to set these off. Plus we’ll get the best view.”

They climbed several more flights of stairs, Hermione’s legs reprimanding her for her lack of exercise over the holidays. She recognized the tower they were climbing as the one Fred had slid down earlier. When they reached the top of the tower, Hermione went over to the window, looking down at the courtyard from their vantage point. Fred joined her and pulled out his wand, pointing it one at a time to the bundles he had placed earlier. Hermione watched the slight glow from the fuses got brighter before there were burst of bright light shooting up in front of them into the sky.

Hermione laughed as the explosions went off overhead. The fireworks the twins had set of during her fifth year looked like child’s play compared to the ones she was seeing now. She laughed as one in the shape of a cat went off, chasing after another in the form of a mouse. They really were magnificent and she turned to Fred to tell him so.

The fireworks were one of Fred’s favorite things to develop at the joke shop. He and George had great fun testing them out and it was quite satisfying to see their creations on display at their old school. He watched with as much joy as Hermione, glancing down periodically to see the bright colors dance off her smiling face.

The cheers from the students below were loudly audible throughout the display and when the last firework had exploded, they grew exponentially. Fred leaned out the window and grinned down at the dots of people below them, wishing he could see McGonagall’s face.

“That was wonderful.” Hermione said, looking out the window next to him. “They seem to agree.”

He grinned over at her, “Thanks. George would have loved this.”

The noise eventually died down and they were left looking out into the dark, clear sky. There was no moon tonight so the grounds surrounding the castle were completely dark. A slight breeze had picked up and Hermione closed her eyes as it kissed her face.

“I should have become a professor.” She said after a few minutes. “I think I could live the rest of my life here.”

Fred laughed. “You’d need to take over divination to have these towers, I’d think.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “Or I suppose you could be the new Madam Pomphrey.”

She continued to look out the window, considering thism. “Madame Granger? I sort of like that. Plus now that Harry’s not at school there wouldn’t be much business for me. I could spend my days relaxing with a book.”

“I’d come to visit.” He said off handedly, causing her to glance over at him. She smiled softly and took his hand in both of hers, feeling how warm it was under her fingers.

After a while in silence Fred spoke, “Hermione, what happened that night of the battle? I mean to me.”

She glanced over at him in confusion but he continued. “I’ve heard the offhanded stories but no one’s really told me what exactly happened. George flat out refused to tell me, saying he didn’t want to think about it. And you mentioned it a few times today.”

“Fred, I don’t know if I’m that one that should—“ She started but he turned to look at her, stopping her words with the seriousness in his eyes.

“Well no one else will. You’ve always been honest. I really do want to know.”

She scanned his face before sighing and nodding. Turning back towards the window she took a deep breath and relived one of the worst nights of her life.

“You remember fighting alongside Percy?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Last thing I remember was him making that stupid joke.”

Hermione laughed a bit, still surprised at the humor Percy had displayed in that moment. “Well someone cast a curse and it exploded the wall behind you. I didn’t see the wall collapse as we were after the snake but when Percy started yelling it got all of our attention. I have dreams sometimes about that yell, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it.”

“Anyways, he yelled and we all came rushing over. You’d been mostly buried by the stones and we just started to get them off of you. Fred, I swear we were all thinking you were dead at that point, there was just so much on you.” She felt the emotions she had felt in that moment return, blinking a bit to keep the tears from forming in her eyes. She remembered Mrs. Weasley’s anguished cry when she thought that her son was dead. She remembered George collapsing to his knees beside her, wordlessly staring at his twin.

“It was really bad. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as scared as I did that day. You and George always kept your humor throughout everything, and the thought of someone so joyful just being gone.” Her voice hitched a bit as she twirled the ring around her pinky finger. “It just felt like we had already lost.”

He was watching her as she spoke, trying to just focus on the events and not the reaction from his family.

“Madam Pomphrey actually came over right away and checked you over. It felt like forever before she told us you were still alive. They took you strait away to St. Mungos.” She sighed. “Honestly I really don’t know how you survived that. You had so many broken bones and your lung had been punctured. You weren’t even breathing by the time we got the stones off of you. Madam Pomphrey truly saved your life.”

Unbeknownst to the rest of his family, Fred had already been back to thank the witch who manned the hospital wing. He had offered her free WWW products forever, before having his own sort of break down thinking what would have happened if she hadn’t been there.

Hermione had finished her story but her forehead was still furrowed at the memories. Fred took her hand again and turned her towards him.

“I appreciate you telling me.”

She nodded. “Of course. Better it be me than to make your family relive that.”

“Hermione you are family.” He said, tilting his head at her. “You’ve been a part of my family for over ten years now.”

This was completely true, she thought. Her own parents had never been recovered from Australia after she had modified their memories. Despite several trips to the country with aurors and ministry workers, her parents had not been recovered, and Hermione kicked herself every day for that. She couldn’t even describe how much she missed her parents, but truly appreciated how the Weasley’s had stepped in as surrogates.

She stepped forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around him, feeling the reassuring warmth against her. His own arms went easily around her and he rested his chin against the top of her head. He never thought coming back to Hogwarts would turn into an emotional experience for the both of them, but he knew that they both needed this.

He pulled back and tilted her head up toward him, gently leaning down to kiss her. She lifted up on her toes and leaned into hip, deepening the kiss. Her lips felt cold against his, as did her hands when they made their way around his neck.

Pulling back with a laugh he looked down at her. “You’re freezing.” He said.

She smiled and shrugged. “I’m always cold. But,” she said, raisin up on her toes again. “You can warm me up.”

Emboldened she kiss him again, feeling his arms grip about her waist tighter. She most definitely wouldn’t mind warming up with him. When they pulled apart again, Fred rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, breathing in the vanilla scent that she wore. Her hands dropped from his neck to run softly over his chest and he felt his heart beat faster under her touch.

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and whispered a quick spell, instantly the air around them warmed, like they were suddenly surrounded by tropics. He looked down at her to find a soft smile on her lips. Her hands went back to his chest and pulled on the zipper of his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders once it had been undone. He laughed as she pulled his shirt over his head.

Hermione leaned forward to press a kiss against his bare skin, enjoying the waft of gunpowder and cinnamon that met her nose. When she had visited his shop a few months ago she had been surprised by the new scent coming off of the amortentia potion, the scent that she found perfectly matched Fred.

He had pushed her own jacket off of her shoulders and unwound the scarf from her neck, leaning down to kiss the soft, sensitive skin. He groaned as he felt her fingers go to the buckle at his waist, undoing it smoothly. He kicked off the boots he was wearing, stumbling into her a bit.

She laughed at his incoordination, using the moment to take a step closer and back him up against the wall. He took in their new location and looked down at her.

“This is a change.” He said with a grin.

She shook her head before he reclaimed her lips, her laugh muffled against them as his fingers worked their way down to her waist. Even the stone wall behind him felt warm as he leaned back into it, pulling her flush against him. Her own shirt was soon pulled over her head and he ran his hands up her sides. Her wand was once again pulled out and she pointed it towards the floor.

“Cushioning charm.” She said wryly, in response to his questioning look.

The rest of their clothing came of soon after, both of them dropping to their knees on the now soft floor. Hermione pushed back at Fred’s chest so that he now was laying down, training her lips over his chest as she settled herself over him. Her knees rested on either side of his waist and he groaned when she took him into her, rolling her hips so that he was fully seated.

Her breath picked up pace as she rocked her hips against him, feeling his hands run up her thighs to help her movements along. She leaned down to kiss him and held he held her tight against him, pressing her breasts flush against his chest. The warmth between them surpassed that of the artificial heat in the small tower room.

Fred sat up suddenly, bringing her with them so they were still pressed together. His hands found the small of her back as she continued to rock against him, sighing against his lips as she did. The sensations rose inside her until she couldn’t take any more, crying out as she tipped over the edge, freezing her movements against him.

He dropped his lips to her neck, feeling the beating pulse there as her body clenched around him. He ached to move against her, but waited until her breathing slowed before flipping them on the floor and thrusting against her. His own pleasure came quickly afterwards, making his breath hitch in his throat. He collapsed against her, slowly relaxing into her warmth beneath him.

The charm below them slowly wore off and Hermione laughed at the sharpness of the stone floor digging into her back. Fred stood and helped her to her feet, covering her lips once more as she pressed close to him.

“You’ve got to give me a minute, Granger.” He said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning that this might get a bit more smutty as we progress. I’m enjoying the chemistry between them and the sneaking around ;)   
> Hope you are enjoying the story so far! Would love to hear feedback!   
> Also, sorry for grammar/spelling mistakes, I free hand everything and don’t have a lot of time to edit unfortunately


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourself for some more *explicit* scenes. I've changed the rating to reflect the change of direction...

They returned from Hogwarts with a sense of bliss, of newness, of understanding. It felt like forever since either Hermione or Fred had someone in their lives (other than family) who they felt this close to and looked forward to seeing. Facing their memories at their old school seemed to open up a whole new side of both of them, one that no one else was privy to.

Their lives went back to their normal routine in a way, with the added steps of seeing each other whenever they could. It was mostly innocent interactions after their tryst in the tower at Hogwarts, plays, dinners, breakfast when Hermione had to work an overnight shift. They were enjoying each other’s company, but trying to take things slow.

However, the happier Hermione grew with her growing relationship with Fred, the more downcast Harry seemed to become. Not exactly a direct correlation, but there was just something that seemed to be eating at the boy-who-lived.

She woke one morning and found him sitting outside on the steps to the small garden behind the house. He was huddled into his coat and she was reminded immediately of sitting outside of their tent on watch during their horcrux hunt. She pulled on her own jacket over her sweater and poured two mugs of coffee, maneuvering the heavy door open as she went to join him.

He looked over at her when she sat next to him on the steps and accepted the warm beverage with a slight smile that quickly faded from his lips. There was just a slight glint of sunlight coming over the courtyard and Hermione stretched out her feet in front of her.

She didn’t quite know what to say to her friend. Since spending so much time together while on the run, they had gotten used to companionable silence, especially after Ron had left them. But she didn’t feel like silence was the best option at this point, Harry lived in silence lately.

“Harry?” She asked tentatively, glancing over at him.

He didn’t say anything but met her eyes as a response.

“Are you all right?” She sighed and turned her body to face him. “Like _actually_ all right?”

The expression on his face looked confused and she continued. “You’re my best friend and no offense but you’re not exactly the best at hiding your brooding. Seeing you like this is awful and honestly, it reminds you of when you used to wear the locket.”

He watched her for a few seconds before laughing a bit. “It’s funny. Now that you describe it that way, it’s exactly how I feel.”

She didn’t smile in return, remembering how it felt to have the cold, depressing piece of Voldemort’s soul hanging from her own neck. The locket had almost been the ruin of their friendship with Ron, but to feel that way without the hope of one day destroying the source, she couldn’t’ imagine.

“Harry. I know you don’t usually listen to my suggestions—“ He rolled his eyes at her. “-but maybe you should go and visit Professor McGonagall. And Hagrid, he really misses you.”

Harry was looking at the cup in his hands again and she continued. “I love you Harry, but I think you need more help than either of us can offer.”

He was quiet for a few minutes, contemplating her words. Even in school he had never been one to heed her advice, and Hermione was just about to give up with a sigh when he spoke, still not looking up at her.

“Alright.”

She leaned forward, drawing her knees up closer to her. “Alright?”

He slowly looked up at her and nodded. His green eyes lacked the spark she remembered as she scanned them. “I think you’re right. Which honestly shouldn’t even have been something I had to question, but-“ he shrugged at her and tried to smile. “I’ve been thinking about visiting for a while, especially since you went back.”

She spoke quickly, “I can go with you if you’d like. It helped me to have someone there.”

He shook his head but reached out to rest his hand on her arm, “No, I think this is something I need to figure out on my own. Maybe Dumbledore would have some advice.”

She balked for a second, thinking he meant to join Dumbledore wherever he was, before she remembered the portrait of previous headmaster that hung in McGonagall’s office. Among them was their old headmaster, the man who had set in motion the plot to defeat Voldemort. But also the man who had put three teenager’s lives at risk on a regular basis, without much advice or clues to go off of.

Over the past few years, some resentment for the man had bubbled to the surface of her previous affection for him. It wasn’t so much the sacrifices they had to make to defeat Voldemort, it was the vague details Dumbledore gave when he knew what needed to be done all along. When Hermione though of the abundance of things that could have gone wrong during their search, it made her crazy.

Harry knew of her recent animosity towards the deceased wizard, but she hadn’t quite understood how what Dumbledore did was necessary for Harry to succeed, for them all to succeed.

***

Harry left for Hogwarts two days after the conversation. The house felt empty without him there and Hermione often found herself lighting all of the lights on the main floor, just to ward away the shadows. The Black house still held memories of its previous owners, some of whom Hermione was quite eager to forget.

She was sitting at the table in the kitchen one evening and was startled by a loud commotion from the living room. Jumping up from her spot she almost spilt the bowl of soup she had resting in front of her, the book next to it was splattered a bit with the hot liquid. As she made her way across the room to the doorway, she automatically turning on the lights as she went. Kreacher could be heard speaking loudly to someone as she entered the room.

“Guests should not arrive unannounced. Master would be most displeased.” The crotchety house elf spoke to the redhead that had just arrived via floo.

Fred looked up at her in exacerbation as Kreacher swept a broom at his feet as if to usher him back into the fireplace.

Hearing Hermione behind them, the house elf turned. “Master Weasley arrives without an invitation, Miss Hermione. The Weasley should go and arrive announced.”

Hermione tried to keep from laughing, knowing how seriously Kreacher took his work at the Black household. “It’s alright Kreacher. I invited Fred earlier, he’s just a bit late.”

The elf considered both of them before slinking away, grumbling under his breath. Fred watched him leave, dusting a bit of soot from the sleeve of his shirt, before turning to Hermione.

“He sure hasn’t gotten more pleasant since Harry’s lived here.”

Hermione shrugged, she had never found Kreacher to be that particularly _unpleasant_ , except when he had called her mudblood when they stayed here on the run.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, stepping further into the room.

He came closer to stand in front of her, placing his hands on her upper arms. “Well I figured you’d be in need of some entertainment while Harry’s away. We both know how much you hate to be left alone in the peace and quiet.” He glanced around to the room around him that was flooded in light. “Then again, maybe you do hate it.”

She smiled, “I don’t hate it. But this house has never felt like home to me. I always feel like there are things lurking in the shadows. So I eliminate the shadows.”

He chuckled, “That would make a nice little product you know? Shadow eliminator. Probably sell out of it to the younger bunch.”

He leaned over and kissed her quickly. “What is that enticing smell?” He said as he pulled away, turning towards the kitchen.

She followed him and took up her spot at the table, trying to clean the liquid from her open book. Fred helped himself to a bowl of the stew that Hermione had made earlier, sitting down across the table from her and began eating. The ease and comfort he inserted himself into every situation with was something that Hermione had always been jealous of.

They fell into easy conversation, never having had difficulty in talking to each other. He amused her with several hilarious stories about the reviews on his products from satisfied customers, each story coming at the cost of the products intended victims. She snorted at the last one and almost spit out the soup she was eating.

“You mean to tell me that you slipped Ron a love potion?” She asked, staring at him.

The grin that she received with wide and tried to seem innocent. “Trust me, you weren’t around that summer but he needed a kick in the arse. Fifteen year old Ron was not a fun person to be around. So we just put a few drops in his morning juice and convinced him he was in love with a garden gnome.” He chuckled as he thought back to his brother chasing the poor creature about the yard.”

She felt both bad for her friend but also amused. “That’s horrible. I’m surprised your mother let you live.”

Fred shrugged, “Well she didn’t exactly know about it. Ron was a bit embarrassed to tell her. We felt a bit bad after he was dosed with that love potion later that year, never really thought that it would be used like that.”

Hermione remembered the moments he was talking about quite clearly. That was what had brought Ron back to her and Harry and away from Lavender. Now that her friend was married to his previous girlfriend, Hermione felt bad about her actions that year.

She shook her head and looked down at the table with a smile. “I can’t believe all of the things that have happened to us. And to think I spent the first half of my life ignorant to this world. I still can’t get enough.”

He considered her words. The fact that she had been raised in a muggle community, without any knowledge of the magical world until she was eleven years old, explained to him he studious nature when it came to her studies. He thought of it similarly to his father’s obsession with muggle items, which made him appreciate her enthusiasm for wizarding knowledge even more.

They cleaned the kitchen together, telling Kreacher to take the night off when the elf tried to interject into their chores. Hermione had the old radio that they had had listened to Potter Watch so many times on in the tent. It still worked but now played happier, less dark news and music. The happy tune that floated out of the little box while they worked was new to Fred, but it didn’t stop him from pulling Hermione towards him with his soapy, wet hands.

She laughed as he pulled her into a swaying dance, timed perfectly to the music. The wetness from his hands was seeping through her shirt as he gripped her waist. She reached over and scooped up a handful of the bubbles from the sink and brought her hand down on his shoulder, staring at him indignantly as she did.

He tilted his chin up, very serious-like, and tango walked her down the aisle of the kitchen, hands outstretched in front of them. Her laughter filled the kitchen as they fell into an easy rhythm, swaying against each other as they made their way around the kitchen. Hermione saw Kreacher out of the corner of her eye wiping down the dining room table, but swaying slightly as he did.

The song died down into another one, a slower one this time, and Hermione dropped her head to rest on Fred’s chest as he pulled their conjoined hands closer to him.

“George is still waiting, you know?” He said after a few more moments of only the song sounding around them.

Leaning her head back, she looked up at him in confusion. “Waiting for what?”

“The beautiful woman you mentioned. I told him he couldn’t have mine, so he’s waiting for his own.”

She smiled slightly at his words, remembering the conversation she had had with the twins what felt like years ago. “I told him he would have to wait. Granted it’s been a bit longer than I expected, but I’m sure he’ll find the results satisfactory.”

“Well you can tell me.” He said with an enticing grin.

She almost did, but knowing that the twin’s shared everything with each other, she didn’t quite trust Fred enough to keep a secret. Smiling she dropped her hands from him and walked to the icebox, pulling out a small box of her favorite ice cream, one that she couldn’t have when Harry was around as he usually ate it all.

“I think I’ll keep this to myself.” She said over her shoulder. “I like seeing the two of you without all the cards.”

After the ice cream was dished out, Hermione and Fred went to sit out on the living room couch. Fred was surprised to find that there was a television there, something that Hermione had brought with her from the muggle comforts of her Paris flat. She watched him as he flipped through the small case of movies she had before settling on one.

He had only ever watched a television once before at a party, and even then he was a bit distracted by the commotion around him to truly appreciate the odd electronic. Hermione laughed when the Titanic theme song filled the room as the screen lit up.

“Oh this is my favorite.” She said, settling back into the cushions as she spooned another bit of ice cream into her mouth.

Fred was fixated on the movie from the beginning, taking frequent pauses to ask her exactly how muggles pulled off such recreations. She laughed at his enthralled expression, enjoying the movie even more than usual seeing it through his eyes. At some point he reached for her and pulled her closer to him, snugging her against him as he stretched his feet out onto the coffee table. It was the picture of comfort and Hermione pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over herself.

At some point during the movie she must have fallen asleep, lulled by the beating of Fred’s heart that she could hear through his chest. She woke sometime later as he moved beneath her, slowly becoming aware of the end credits sliding over the screen. Pushing herself up she blinked and looked around her, seeing that the room was once again darkened, the only light coming from the television.

Fred was watching her, yawning widely when she did. Her eyes were wide with fatigue as she looked back at him.

“Are you going home?” She asked.

The corner of his mouth twitched up. “Well that sort of depends on you, I already got reprimanded once today for doing something without an invite.”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Would you care to spend the night, Fred?”

“Well now that you ask..” He said, smiling at her.

The rose from the couch and Hermione turned off lights as she led him upstairs to her bedroom. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been in here before, she thought as she found that she was slightly nervous. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t slept next to each other before either. But this felt more planned, more intentional.

She was surprised with just how easy things felt between her and Fred. Ron had been a nightmare to be with after years of developing their friendship. Her feelings for him had definitely been real, but as she realized later, they were born out of years of close friendship and childhood crushes. Luckily they realized around the same time that while they loved each other, they were just too different to make a relationship work.

With Fred it was so different. They still had the basis of friendship and knowing each other for years, but they worked better together. Fred was surprisingly intelligent and Hermione found herself falling into detailed conversations with him, ones that Ron would have simply listened and nodded to.

She changed quickly in her closet, laughing when she came out to find that Fred had already sprawled out in her bed, leaning back against the pillows with his arms behind his head. His bare chest caught her attention and she narrowed her eyes.

“Fred Weasley are you naked in my bed?”

He grinned maliciously as he threw back the covers, showing off the bright purple boxers he was wearing. She laughed as she pulled back the covers of the other side and slid in next to him. “Those are quite lovely.” She said as she settled in.

“Thanks, they’re George’s. I’m sure he’d let you borrow them.”

“What about you?” She asked, starting to smile.

He looked a bit confused at her words. “What about me?”

Grinning she rolled she was propped up on her elbows next to him, looking down at his face. “Will you let me borrow them?” She asked.

He smirked at her, loving the way her brown eyes warmed when she joked. Deciding to test her resolve he moved his hands under the covers and after a few shimmies of his hips, produced the garment in question.

Her eyes widened as he threw the boxers to the ground and rolled, pulling her with him until he was resting above her.

“I didn’t mean now.” She said as he bent to kiss her neck, feeling her heart speed up in her chest.

“Well you should have been more specific.” He murmured beside her ear before bringing his lips to her own.

Each intimate encounter they had was like being with each other for the first time. She loved the feel of him over her and drew in a sharp breathe when his hands skimmed under her shirt and found her breast, lightly palming the mount that fit perfectly in his hand. He nudged her knees apart, allowing him to rest between her thighs, fulling spread out on her. His hand continued to trail over her chest and abdomen before raising the shirt fully off of her.

He leaned back to admire the view below him, she blush under his gaze and squirmed beneath him. He took her hands in his and leaned down to kiss her again.

“You’re beautiful.” He said softly against her lips.

Her hands slid up his bare back to grip his neck tightly, deepening the kiss he had started. The friction between them only intensified the ache between her legs. She could feel his lack of boxers acutely as he pressed his hips against her, thrusting softly.

Abruptly he pulled back and grinned as he slid lower on the bed, lowering his head to press his mouth against her smooth abdomen. The short and nickers she was wearing came off a second later as he swept them down her legs. She watched as he lay between her legs, pressing a kiss first to her inner thigh before moving his mouth up towards her center.

When his tongue found the right spot, her hips involuntarily rose against his mouth as she gasped and closed her eyes, letting her head fall back against her pillow. He continued his ministrations, bringing her closer to the peak. The way she quivered underneath him was maddening as his own erection throbbed painfully below him. But he wanted to watch her fall apart beneath him.

His hand slid up her leg before dipping down to her center, slowly pushing a finger inside of her. She gripped at his arm that had wrapped around her leg to grip her hip, breathing faster as another finger slipped inside of her. He smiled against her when she mewled beneath him, increasing the pace of his hand until he felt her clench around him, her hips moving against his mouth.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was breathing deeply when he slid up her body, but she responded immediately as his lips found her again, kissing him hungrily. Her eyes opened as she pulled back and she smiling, pushing up on the bed to roll him to his back. The intensity of his gaze on her as she moved down his body was thrilling.

Her lips skimmed over the muscles of his chest and abdomen, dipping lower to taste him. He almost came right then and there as her tongue ran across the head of his erection.

“Hermione.” He groaned above her.

She glanced up at him and saw how vulnerable he was under her touch, before lowering her head to pull him into her mouth. He tasted salty as she ran her tongue over the smooth skin, feeling him jerk below her. One of his hands found her hair and buried into the curls.

After a few more minutes he was breathing heavily, pulling at her arm as he said her name again. As she started to move up him again, he leaned up to wrap an arm about her waist, rolling them again so he was on top of her. Pressing his hips forward he entered her in a single thrust, pausing to let her adjust to him. She pulled his lips back to hers and pushed her hips up against his, signaling him to move.

His thrusts were slow, enjoying the fell of her wet heat gripping him with each movement. The brown in her eyes was molten now, burning into his deep blue ones. Feeling the pressure build, he began to move faster, lifting her leg to give him better access.

The room felt sweltering around them as Hermione’s fingers gripped his back, a thin sheen of sweat covering them both. He thrust against her and slipped a hand between them, tipping her over the edge as his fingers dance against her. He lost himself as she arched against him, feeling his own orgasm rush through his body.

They were both breathing heavily when the final waves left their body. Hermione’s hands ran softly up and down Fred’s back, making him shiver under her touch. He rolled off of her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She turned on her side and looked up at him, reaching up to smooth down the mess that his hair had become.

“What are you thinking?” She asked after a few moments of quiet between them.

He smiled slightly before leaning forward to kiss her. “Just thinking about that. About you.” He said when they parted. “How it still boggles my mind how we ended up here.”

She nodded. He chuckled suddenly, “You know I had a crush on you during your fourth year.’ He said matter-of-factly.

She raised her brows and he nodded. “After the yule ball.” She rolled her eyes at this, it seems that the yule ball was her grand proclamation to the boys at Hogwarts that she was indeed a girl.

He shook his head and laughed. “Well you can’t blame me. You looked bloody beautiful in that dress.” His hands skimmed her waist and rested in the curve. “I don’t think I was a bit surprised that Krum noticed you.”

Hermione thought of the Quidditch play and smiled, he had been one of the most important people in her life event wise. He had been her first date, her first kiss, her first time. She hadn’t even told Ron that Victor had been the first person she had ever been with, keeping that all to herself. He was the first man to ever look at her as more, sort of like the way Fred was looking at her now.

She leaned forward to kiss him. “Too bad you were too busy being a prat in school.”

He laughed against her lips, “I was anything but. Just think how boring school would have been if we hadn’t been there to terrorize everyone. All those poor first-years would have been at the mercy of Peeves.”

The poltergeist had been their arch nemesis and biggest competition in school, pulling off even more pranks than the twins did, though the Bloody Baron tried to keep him in check. At least they were both rued by Filtch the caretaker.

The spoke for a few more minutes before Hermione’s eyes started drooping. She curled into Fred’s side as he rolled onto his bag, feeling the lazy path of his fingers as they stroked her arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, now I'm nervous for the reactions. It always feels a bit weird writing scenes like this, like I'm invading someone's privacy, or being a peeping tom maybe? Though I must admit it was fun to write.   
> Let me know what you guys think. Should I go back to more PG-13 or keep this up?


	14. Chapter 14

Harry stayed away for two weeks, which meant that Fred stayed with Hermione for almost two weeks. He was there almost every day thought he didn’t always spend the night. Hermione also visited him at his and George’s flat, enjoying the company of the Weasley twins and their banter.

She came to visit the shop one day a week after Harry had left, arriving in jeans and a light blue blouse that indicated her day off. George was at the counter and gave her a smile as she approached.

“Miss me already Granger?” He asked when she reached him. The dark wood of the counter gleamed as she leaned against it.

“Not especially.” She said, tilting her head.

He gaped at her and clutched his chest, acting as though her words wounded him. “You hurt my pride.” Then he sighed and looked at her slyly. “Though is suppose I’m not the one you would be missing anyways.”

She rolled her eyes but fought to keep the grin off of her face. Even though no one else in the family knew about her and Fred, it was nice that George did. It wasn’t that they were keeping their relationship a secret, but given that Hermione had been a part of the Weasley family for over ten years, her involvement with Fred would be more significant than if he brought home someone they didn’t know.

George told her that Fred was in the back room working on stocking products. Even though she had just seen him last night, she still found herself looking forward to seeing the elder twin. The door squeaked a bit on it’s hinges as she pushed through, shaking her head at the sign that indicated great bodily harm to those who dared enter.

Fred looked up from the cauldron he was stirring at the noise and grinned when he saw her. He knew she had a day off but figured it would be spent catching up on everything she needed to get done, not visiting him at work.

“Hi.” She said as she came to his side, leaning over the cauldron to inspect its contents.

He continued stirring but returned her greeting, placing a hand on her lower back as she leaned against him

“What are you working on?” She asked, not recognizing the bubbling bright green liquid.

“Puking pastels.” He said, dousing the flame below the blackened cauldron and standing up, preparing for the final steps. She watched as he performed a freezing spell on the outside of the metal, causing the liquid inside to thicken significantly. After a few more seconds, Fred waved his wand again and the green glob rose from the cauldron into the air, splitting itself in halves multiple times until there were at least a hundred small oval green blobs floating in front of them. These were then transferred to the counter next to him and wrapped in brightly colored wax paper.

“Well that’s efficient.” Hermione observed as they were settled in rows in already laid out display cases. She turned back towards his ingredients on the counter, “What do you use as an emetic?”

“Horn-toad saliva.” He said, grinning as she made a face. “It’s really quite effective, though you have to mix it with Arrlow root in order to lessen the severity”

Her academic interest was piqued and she glanced over at him. “Will you teach me?”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. No one else in his family ever seemed to take an interest in his and George’s work, at least not in the actual workings of the shop, the success they had was a different story.

“You want to learn how to make a Puking Pastel?” He asked.

She tilted her head at his tone, thinking that he may not want to be bothered by making the same thing twice just for her sake. “Well it doesn’t have to be a Puking Pastel if you’re done with them. You could teach me anything.” She tried to keep her voice cheery, hoping that his mood in turn would lighten.

Fred seemed to get her subtle nuances and immediately smiled at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just other than George and I, no one else knows these recipes. How do I know you won’t sell them out from under me?” He grinned slyly at her.

“As much business that forcing my patients to vomit would drum up, I promise this is purely out of curiosity.” She said, holding up her fingers in a scout’s salute that she learned when she was seven.

He looked confused at her gesture and she sighed, rolling her eyes. “So will you teach me?”

“With pleasure.” He said, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

He went to the stock cupboard at the back of the room that held all of their ingredients and base potions, evilly thinking how he could test the brightest-witch-of-her-age. He chuckled to himself as he starting levitating ingredients back to the workbench.

Hermione had rolled up the sleeves of her blue shirt before he came back and she was currently braiding her hair to keep the curls out of her way. Fred handed her an apron off of the hooks on the wall near the door, having known from experience that these potions had the tendency to stain clothes. She took the apron with a word of thanks, slipping the loop over her head before tying the strings behind her. Once she was fully prepared, she put her hands on her hips and turned towards the cauldron.

“So what are we making?” She asked, feeling more excited than she had thought.

“Daydream fancies.” Fred said, grinning over at her. This was a play on the Patented Daydream Charms that she had once called ‘extraordinary magic’ when she was in school.

She sent him a knowing smile, remembering that exact moment and how he had offered her one after her compliment. The quality of the product had been outstanding when she had tested it later that evening, dreaming that she was exploring the streets of Pompeii.

“I thought these were charms?” She asked.

Fred nodded, “Normally yes, but we figured out the way to prolong the experience is to make it ingestible. Gives the user about a two hour long trip.” He clapped his hands together and pushed her towards the table. He knew that this was their most complex recipe and was eager to watch her try her hand at it.

“Alright, so the first few steps are relatively easy, the difficulty is in the timing later on.” He explained the process carefully while she went into perfect student mode and made mental notes about the recipe, asking questions that would have made any teacher proud.

She easily completed the first five steps without him having to repeat the directions. Fred watched her precise movements with admiration, wishing he could have taken a potions class with her in school. When the liquid in front of her bubbled a light orange color and smelled of cloves, she paused, this was the step she knew would take exact precision.

Glancing over at Fred who was watching her from a stool, “So it’s the hemlock now, right?” He nodded. “And alternating stirring for twelve seconds before adding the Howlet Wing?” He nodded again, leaning forward as she turned back to her work. He and George had messed this part up so many times. The potion exploded if it wasn’t done right at this point, he already had his wand in hand, ready to cast a shield charm in front of Hermione if it didn’t go right.

She picked up the deep black root with a pair of tweezers, knowing that the poison from the plant would seep through skin if handled directly. The liquid in the cauldron bubbled precariously as she dropped the ingredient in, turning a deep purple color as she stirred back and forth. After precisely twelve second her other hand dropped six of the wings into the pot. Fred let out a breath he had been holding, seeing that the potion turned the desired lovely lilac shade and didn’t splatter everywhere.

Hermione glanced over at him with a grin, “Nervous much?” She asked as she continued stirring.

He shrugged. “More impressed. Wait ‘till we tell George that you’re better at his job than he is.”

She laughed and continued with the potion, knowing that following directions was nothing compared to the creativity the twin’s possessed to be able to create these products in the first place. That was something she had always admired about them, the passion for the work. It was more than just a job for them, they had made a career out of pure enjoyment of being a pain in the arse.

After double checking with him a few more times during the more complex steps, Hermione leaned over the cauldron as she added the final two moonseeds to the simmering liquid. Immediately the potion turned a silvery-holographic color and smelled enticingly like mint. She looked over at Fred who was standing next to her, inspecting the final product. The grin on his face was telling enough that she had gotten it right.

He slipped his apron over his head and handed it to her, stepping around her as if making towards the door. “Well I quit. I’ve taught you well. Watch out for George, he can bite sometimes.”

She laughed as he turned back to her with a grin. “Bloody hell though, Granger. That was quite good.” He really was impressed. They could have used her around when they first started out, maybe less of their products would have ended up plastered all over the walls.

Feeling proud of herself, she gave a quick curtsy before charming the potion into the tiny little bottles Fred had laid out earlier. The swirling silver of her product was beautiful as it swirled in the glass containers, each one capped with a little stopper.

Fred had come to stand next to her at this point, putting an arm around her shoulders as they both observed their finished product.

“So how does the user control what they dream about?” She asked, looking up at him.

“Well as you know with the charm you just include it in the incantation.” She nodded, remembering her own request. “But with these, we found that the potion just-“ he paused and held his hands up, “-gives you what you need.”

“Gives you what you need?” Hermione repeated skeptically.

He nodded as she turned back to the small bottles. How would a potion know what someone needed? She thought to herself. After a few seconds she spoke again, “So what if someone needed a good shag?”

He gaped at her as she turned to him with a look of innocent. Even as he got to know her more, there was still a part of him that viewed her as prim and proper Hermione Granger, and to hear those words come out of her mouth was, in the least, surprising.

“Then,” he said slowly. “They would get bloody good dream sex.”

She smiled slightly and stepped towards him, the finished product on the counter completely forgotten. “So if I were to take one right now?”

He raised his eyebrows at her, feeling his heart start to race a bit as she raised her hand to fiddle with the button at the neck of his shirt. The grin widened as she turned her face up towards him, enjoying seeing his reaction to her sudden boldness.

Clearing his throat, he tried to act calm as he spoke. “Are you saying you’re in need of a good shag?”

Her eyes all but twinkled as she leaned closer, raising up on her tiptoes so her lips were only inches from him. “Is it better than the real thing?”

He thought of his own elicit experiences with the potion on particularly lonely nights, and compared it to the encounters he had had with Hermione over the past few month. While he had found pleasure with the daydream fancies, he found that nothing even came close to how he felt when he was with her.

“Not even close.” He said before raising his hand to her waist and dipping his head to bridge the gap between their lips. He knew that she had been teasing him earlier, but the intensity of the kiss put any joking between them aside. They gripped each other tightly, suddenly thrust into passion in the middle of broad daylight, in the back room of the shop.

Fred took a step forward, walking Hermione backwards until the middle of her back bumped against the counter. Feeling the cessation in their progression, Fred lowered his hands to her thighs and lifted her up so she sat on the counter in front of him. The height was perfect and he stepped easily between her legs to continue his work on her lips. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and he had just started to slide one hand under her shirt when the sound of someone clearing their throat make them jump apart.

George was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, the small grin on his face gave away his enjoyment at catching them. Immediately withdrawing his hand, Fred turned towards his twin, trying to adjust the front of his pants.

George’s grin grew wider and he held up a hand. “Please don’t stop on my account.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at the younger twin, wishing she could somehow hex that grin off of his face. “We weren’t doing anything.” She said, matter-of-factly.

George tilted his head and snickered a bit. “Yet.”

With a tight grin on his own face, Fred addressed his twin. “Do you need something?”

Sensing that he was walking on very thin ice, George snapped his fingers together. “Yes indeed.” He tried to remember why he had come into the back in the first place, not ashamed to admit that the brief glimpse of Hermione’s dark navy bra had rendered his memory useless. “I need-” he looked around in search of something, “-daydream fancies.” He said his eyes landing on the fresh batch behind the couple.

Fred raised his eye brows at him. “Sure you do. Well lucky for you Hermione’s just whipped these up.”

This caught George’s attention almost more than their little display earlier had. “I’m sorry did you say Granger made these?”

Fred nodded.

“And nothing blew up?” Another nod.

George’s eyes fell on Hermione in admiration and he crossed quickly to her, picking up her hand to bring it to his lips. “Hermione, love. Run away with me. Together we can rule the world of humor. Me the mastermind, and you the brains.”

She chuckled and looked over at Fred who was shaking his head. “I’m right here, Georgie.”

George continued to look at Hermione but tilted his head a bit. “Did you hear something, love? I think your brilliance has made me hallucinate someone else in the room.”

She grinned and put her free hand on his cheek, giving it a quick pat before slipping down from the counter. “Sorry, George. I’m afraid I only like tall red-heads who were beaters.”

George laughed before a sly look spread over his face. “Well you’re in luck, there are two of those around. And that means double the fun you know.”

Her eyes widened at his implication and Fred stepped forward, clapping a hand on his twin’s shoulder. “All right, that’s enough. Go find your own brightest-witch-of-her-age, mine’s going to make me rich.”

He pushed George towards the door who shot one last grin over his shoulder at Hermione. When the younger twin had exited, Fred tuned back to Hermione, whose eye were still wide in shock.

Fred held up a hand, “First of all, no, George and I have never had a three-some together. So you can clear that from your mind, he just likes to joke about it as people seem to have these odd notions about twins.”

Hermione cleared her throat and looked down awkwardly. “Of course not. I wasn’t even thinking that.”

He shook his head at her lie. “And second. In case you had any thoughts about exchanging us, I’ll have you know that I am much funnier.”

She looked up at him again and laughed. Taking a few steps she was once again standing in front of him. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Like I said, I’m only interested in tall, red-heads.”

He brought his hands to her waist again. “So the beater part is negotiable?”

She shrugged and brought her lips closer to his. “It gives me more options.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today but I wanted to get it down before the weekend. Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the story thus far. Not exactly sure what the plot structure will end up being but I'm just having fun for now :)


	15. Chapter 15

Fred taught her three more products over the course of the next few hours. All of them went perfectly except for the fainting fancies which globbed over the side of the cauldron onto the floor. She glared at Fred, who was laughing deeply at her first failure of the day. Her skill at potions had deeply impressed him throughout the day and she was able to assist him in restocking the needed products, something that would have taken him a whole other day.

When there was finally nothing left for them to do, Hermione took off her apron and sat on one of the stools next to where Fred had already seated himself. While she loved her job as a healer, she could see the appeal of creating products all day. It was satisfying work and Hermione looked over the multiple boxes sitting on the shelves opposite them.

“So are you ready to switch careers yet?” Fred asked, lounging back to rest against the counter behind them.

She looked over at him with a smile. “As tempting as that would be, I’d hate for you to be out of a job.”

He laughed and shook his head, knowing that it would be George out on the street instead. His twin had left a few hours ago, having only been scheduled for a half day. He was likely upstairs in their flat, lounging in front of the TV that Fred had bought last week after being introduced to Hermione. He had created a monster in George who hadn’t been able to tear himself away since.

“So,” Hermione said, pulling her hair out of the braid it had been in for the day. “What next?”

He looked over at her, “What do you mean?”

She shrugged slightly and waved her hand across the room in front of her. “What’s next? Do we have to bring them out front or restock the base potions? What else?”

He laughed, “Nothing else. Haven’t you seen what time it is?” She glanced down at her watch, surprised to find that it was already 7:30 at night. Seeing her surprised look, Fred nodded. “Exactly. So for tonight there is nothing else. The day is done.”

She looked over the products again, finding that she still had plenty of energy despite the late hour. “Well shouldn’t we at least bring these out front? I know you said you were running low.”

He groaned, thinking of doing more work, but wasn’t going to turn down the help when she seemed to be quite keen on working. “I suppose.” He said, sliding off of the stool.

They went to pick up a box stocked full of the fresh products. “You’re a workaholic, you know?” Fred said to her as they made their way out to the front of the store. It was past closing time so there was no one else in the space, the lights had been dimmed and the sky outside the windows was dark already.

Hermione shot him a grin over her shoulder, bringing her own box to the front display cases where he had directed her. “I just enjoy being busy.” She said as he started up the stairs with his own box.

The displays in the front window were the most colorful ones as they were meant to attract the attention of people passing by. Hermione didn’t quite think that was necessary since their shop was the most brightly painted one on the street. She moved over to the Daydream Fancy case and arranged the bottles around the small lights on the display that illuminated the swirling silver liquid. Knowing that she had made these products gave her the same sense of satisfaction that curing a patient did.

When her box was finally empty, she returned to the back for the last one, heaving it against her as she pushed through the door. Her small frame was swamped by the large box and Fred laughed as she teetered with its weight, stepping forward to lift the box from her hands.

“I had that.” She said, sourly, rubbing the pain in her hands away.

“Sure. The rate you were going these were going to end up all over the floor.” He said as he easily carried to box upstairs where he had been working. She follow and watched as he deftly placed the products, straitening each display as he went. When they finally emptied the last product, Fred stretched his arms above his head.

“Well I think we’ve earned a nice large drink.” He said, looking over at her with a grin.

Feeling the slight ache of hunger in her stomach, she agreed. They made their way back downstairs and out the front door, Fred recasting the wards as the closed the door behind them. The street was relatively empty as they walked down the cobblestones, a few shoppers past them in the lamplight.

As they reached the end of the alley and entered the Leaky Cauldron, they were met with warmth as they stepped inside. The fires were blazing in the fireplaces about the room and the bartender, Tom, raised a hand to them as they entered and found a table near the back.

“Have you heard anything from Harry?” Fred asked as they sat down.

Hermione shrugged out of her coat, draping it across the back of the chair. “Yes, he sent an owl two days ago. It sounds like he’s doing alright. He’s been apparently helping Hagrid with his glasses which I’m sure Hagrid is enjoying immensely.” Hermione thought of Harry’s reputation in the wizarding world, and no doubt having the boy-who-lived help out with the Care of Magical Creatures, was enticing to every student.

“How much you want to bet they will just want to hear stories from Harry instead of learning about blast-ended screwts?” Fred joked.

She grimaced thinking about the blubbery animals they had focused on during their fourth years. Hopefully Hagrid had done away with those creatures. They perused the short menu as Tom came to take their drink orders. The tables around them were quite empty, only a few other people in the entire place which was surprising given that it wasn’t all that late.

Hermione took a sip of the cider that Tom set in front of her. Fred had his own glass of ale and took a long draw before leaning back in his chair.

“I think I could just live here.” He said, leaning his head back.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that anyplace that served food could be a comfortable place to live for any Weasley. “We it is in an Inn so that wouldn’t really be a problem.” She said as he lifted his head to grin at her.

“So what do you think about Ron’s news?” Fred asked as she leaned forward to rest her arms on the table.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked at him confused. “What news?”

Fred sputtered a bit, surprised that his little brother hadn’t told Hermione already. “You don’t know?”

Starting to get concerned, she shook her head. “Know what Fred?”

He felt bad for bringing this up, maybe Ron had planned to tell her himself, but then again he had been told a week ago. There wasn’t a reason imaginable that Fred could think of where Ron wouldn’t tell his best friend about this.

“Fred, what is it?” She asked again.

Sighing he ran a hand through his hair. “Lavender’s pregnant.” Hermione’s eyes widened in surprise. “Yeah, I guess they found out a few weeks ago.”

She leaned back in her chair, Fred watching her with sympathy, seeing the hurt look on her face A million thoughts raced through her mind; why hadn’t he told her? Was she not that big a part of his life anymore?

“I’m sorry. I thought he would have told you already. I mean I honestly thought you and Harry would be the first two to know.”

She tried to keep her face passive. “Obviously not.” She sighed and raised her glass to her lips again.

“I’m sure he meant to tell you, probably just got caught up in the excitement of everything.” Fred said, trying to make her feel better.

She smiled softly and looked over at him, “Fred, it’s okay. It’s no secret that we all aren’t as close as we used to be. He’ll tell me when they want to.” He watched her and she groaned. “God, Lavender is going to be ten times worse now. She already fancies herself all important, can you imagine what it’s going to be like now that she’s pregnant?”

Fred laughed, completely agreeing with her. When they had told the family last week, his mother wasted no time fussing over the blond witch, offering her food at every turn. He and George had already had to sit through an extensive conversation about possible names for the new addition. He remembered Lavender gushing over the name Aphrodite, and he already felt bad for his future niece or nephew.

Their food came out and Hermione dug into her Shepard’s pie, pausing to steal a bite of Fred’s steak. She grinned at him as he looked up at her in exacerbation.

“If you wanted steak then you should have ordered steak. I already have six siblings that I have to share with.” He said, narrowing his eyes at her a bit.

She coughed as she laughed, swallowing the tender meat and meeting his eyes with an innocent grin. “I only wanted a bite.”

“We’re getting separate desserts.” He said, warily acknowledging her as she laughed.

She did end up stealing a bite of his chocolate cake, but fairly offered him a similar bounty of her piece of blueberry pie. At the end of their meal, they thanked Tom before leaving the pub, walking out into the chilly night air.

It was getting close to 10:00 as they paused outside of the doorway of the building. Hermione had turned towards Fred and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Do you want to come back with me?” She asked, thinking about George likely still plastered in front of the screen at their flat. “I don’t work tomorrow, we could watch a movie.”

“You’ve convinced me.” Fred said with a smile, stepping forward to take her hands in his before apparating to the front door of Grimmauld place. Kreacher glared at them from the kitchen at the sound of the front door opening, mumbling about the Weasley being back again.

They settled on the couch, Fred picking out the movie again and a Princess Bride started to play before them. Having seen the movie a hundred times already, Hermione spent her time watching him instead, laughing at his expression at the cheesy movie in front of them.

About halfway through she started to feel bold, and raised her hand to fiddle with the neck of his shirt. He smiled a bit and leaned over the kiss her forehead, but then went right back to the movie. Rolling her eyes she shifted on the couch and leaned closer to press her lips to his neck just below his ear. He shivered under her touch but continued watching the movie.

“Love, this is a good part.” He said, running his hand down her back .

Huffing she pulled back, staring at him. Perhaps introducing him to a television was not the best thing to do. Slightly annoyed she slid over his lap so her knees were on either side of his waist. Placing her arms on his shoulder, she looked his dead in the face.

“Fred Weasley. I am literally throwing myself at you and you’d rather watch a movie?” She raised her eyebrows at him as he finally met her gaze.

He grinned at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, raising up to get closer. “But the Giant’s on.”

She laughed and he claimed her lips with his, smiling against them. She gripped the sides of his face as he kissed her, enjoying the residual taste of chocolate on his lips. Pulling back, she bent her head to his neck again, pressing soft kisses against the skin there, making him groan.

His own hands were kneading the small of her back sliding up under her shirt to feel along her spine. She could feel him hardening beneath her and brought her lips back to his, moving her hips softly above him.

“How am I ever going to finish a movie again?” He asked against her lips.

She chuckled and continued her movements. “You’ll figure it out.”

She slid her fingers beneath the hem of his shirt and brought it up over his head, smiling at the mess it made of his hair. It improved slightly as she ran her fingers through it and she grinned as Fred started to tug her own shirt over her head. He leaned back to look at her when the garment had been discarded, appreciating the way the cream colored lace of her bra encased her breasts.

He leaned forward and covered one of the peaks with his mouth, causing her to arch against him and moan. The tugging on her breast made her close her eyes in pleasure, softly running her fingers through his hair. She barely felt his hands come around her to release the clasp on her bra, sliding it down over her shoulders as he leaned back.

“I’m assuming Kreacher is off somewhere else?” Fred asked, breathily as he leaned toward her neck.

She nodded, “He normally disappears around eleven.”

“Good.” He said as he lowered his hands to her jeans, deftly unbuttoning them. His hand slipped beneath the waistband of her nickers, finding the wet heat of her at his fingertips. She leaned her forehead against his as he moved against her, her breath picking up in speed.

After a few minutes, he removed his hand and tugged at the jeans still on her hips, assisting her to pull the awkwardly down her leg. She laughed when she tipped against him as she rose to kick the garment off. When she was up she helped him with his own jeans, tugging them off as he raised his hip.

When they were both naked, Hermione straddle him again, slowly lowering down to encase him inside her. He groaned as the feel of her gripping him, and leaned his head against the back of the couch. When she started to move against him, she brought her lips down to his, kissing him deeply as they moved together.

He tried to match her pace but soon was thrusting up against her, seeking more. The grip of his hands on her hips tightened as she moved faster over him, a slight sheen of sweat appearing between her breasts. He leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her waist, dropping his lips to her shoulder.

The pressure building inside her had reached its peak and she felt the waves of release crash over her. She stiffened in his arms as she cried out, gripping his shoulders tightly. He continued moving and came with the sensation of her walls gripping him. He muffled his groan in her neck as he spasmed beneath her.

Their movements stilled as they came down form their high, and Hermione kissed the side of his head, her arms still wrapped around his shoulders. Fred sighed as he pulled back, keeping his arms around her waist as he leaned back against the couch. He had softened inside her but was still firmly seated in the warmth.

“I think I could stay here all day.” He said, moving her hair away from her face.

She laughed, “That’s what you said earlier. So beer and sex are what it takes to make you happy. Noted.”

He grinned and kissed her, “You really are the smartest-witch-of-your-age.”

***

Harry owled Hermione the next day, letting her know that he was coming back the next day. As excited as she was to see her friend after over three weeks of him being gone, she was also going to miss the intimacy she had developed with Fred. It wouldn’t do to have sex on the couch with Harry home.


	16. Chapter 16

Harry arrived home in better spirits than Hermione had seen him in quite some time. He told stories of the different creatures that Hagrid had been teaching about, seemingly having a new appreciation for the behind-the-scenes of the infamous class. He had been to see Dumbledore multiple times over the three weeks he had been gone, apparently trying to understand more the events of that final battle.

When he and Hermione finally were able to sit down and actually talk, she was surprised at Harry’s revelation that he saw his parents and other loved ones after using the resurrection stone that night. It was something that he hadn’t told anyone about, only sharing that he had disposed of the stone so no one else could use it.

Hermione watched him with wide eyes as he recounted the story of seeing his parents, Remus and Sirius while going to Voldemort to meet his end.

“Harry, why didn’t you tell us?” She asked softly, reaching across the table to grip his hand in hers. His eyes were sad, but there was a light to them that had not been present when she had sent him to Hogwarts.

He met her eyes easily and took a deep breath. “I guess it just felt so final.” She tilted her head at him. “Like if I talked about it then it would really mean that it was the last time I would see my parents.”

“What do you mean, the last time? Harry, they’re—they’re—“

His eye sharped, “I know their dead.” He snapped, immediately sighing, knowing that there was no need to be frustrated with her.

“I know they’re dead, Hermione.” He said, more softly this time. “But that hasn’t stopped me from seeing them. I’ve seen them many times, but somehow I know that seeing them that night would be the last time for a long time. I didn’t need their help anymore.”

She bit her lip, still holding his hand, but not entirely sure what to say. “You’ll always need them.” She said at last and he looked up at her again. “I always need my parents. I think about them every day and would give anything to have them back.”

His features softened as he remembered that Hermione knew the pang of losing parents almost as well as he did. It was almost worse given that she had known hers for seventeen years before they were gone. She had the time to love them, make memories with them, and truly be their daughter; before losing them. Her parents had never been recovered from Australia after Hermione had sent them there with their memories erased. They were presumed dead after their residence in Australia was found ransacked and without the presence of the Granger’s. He knew the guilt Hermione felt at having sent her parents away in the first time, she often wondered if they would still be with her if she had just found another way to protect them.

“Hermione I’m sorry.” He sighed and squeezed her hands. “You know as well as I how it feels. It just felt final.” She nodded. “I shouldn’t be whining about it, I at least had the chance to say goodbye.”

She smiled softly, blinking away the tears that pricked at her eyes at the thought of her own parents. The last time she saw them, she was erasing every memory of her from their minds, she didn’t exist in their world, and now, they didn’t exist in theirs.

“We’re just a bunch of orphans, aren’t we?” She said, trying to lighten the mood between them.

He grinned back at her. “Well almost. Dye our hair and we’d pass as Weasleys. Though I’m not to sure you’d want to be viewed as a sister to a certain Weasley.” He eyed her, the grin on his face widening.

She gaped at him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said defiantly.

He snorted and shook his head, “Oh, come off it Hermione. I’ve noticed the looks going between you and Fred. It’s not like you’re being subtle having him over almost every night while I’ve been gone.”

She stuttered and Harry grinned at her, “Kreacher told me. Apparently he was only to excited to complain about the Weasel twin coming by. And George wasn’t making googly eyes at you over Christmas, so that left only one.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at his master deduction skills, sighing when she realized she would have to let him in to this side of her life. “It’s not that we’re not hiding, it’s just that everything is so new.”

Harry nodded, understanding exactly how she felt. The Weasley’s could be overpowering at times, hence why he had decided to live here instead of taking up Mrs. Weasley’s offer of a place at the Burrow. If they found out that Fred and Hermione were a couple, there would be loads of speculation. Even though Ron and Hermione had only dated for a few months, and had ended their relationship quite amicably, there seemed to be an unspoken rule about dating another sibling’s ex-girlfriend.

“So when did all this start?” He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. It felt good to focus on something happy after spending months in depressing thoughts.

“In Paris.” She said, trying not to meet his eye or teasing grin. “Last summer.”

He raised his brows at her. “That long? Wow, honestly, he was the last person I ever expected you to be with.”

Hermione nodded, “I felt the same way. We definitely didn’t plan it and honestly it wasn’t supposed to continue-“ She trailed off, not exactly wanting her best friend to know the exact details of how she and Fred got together.

“Anyways,” She said, taking a deep breath. “No one but George knows, so-“

He nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to say anything. I may give Fred a hard time but, I promise he’ll be the only one.”

She smiled in thanks, knowing that Fred would get a good laugh of Harry performing the “big brother talk”.

***

She was right in her thinking when, three days later, Fred tugged her aside during a Sunday dinner at the Burrow.

“You told Harry?” He asked, pulling her into a broom cupboard.

She looked around them in exasperation. “He guessed. And if we keep ducking into tiny closets to talk, we aren’t going to have to _tell_ anyone.”

Fred grinned and her and pressed closer. “I must admit I have ulterior motives, can’t really do this out in the middle of the living room.”

He grinned before leaning down to kiss her, pressing her against the wall of tools behind her. She sighed against his lips, moving her hands to his waist.

“No, we can’t.” She said quietly when he pulled back. “But eventually, I’d like to.”

He looked down at her, a smile forming on his lips. “Hermione Granger, are you saying you’d like to be in a relationship with me? What would the public say. Ms. Prefect?”

She bit her lip to keep from grinning back at him. “Maybe. Depends on your definition of a relationship.”

He raised his eyebrows and considered her words. “Well, I suppose getting free healthcare would be a requirement.”

She rolled her eyes, knowing that if she countered with a request for free prank products, he wouldn’t even recognize her. “The wizarding world gets free healthcare to begin with so it doesn’t sound like you’re going to be getting much out of this.”

He laughed and kissed her again quickly before opening the door and looking around the hallway outside “I’ll think about it.” He said over his shoulder before ducking out, Hermione following quickly after, laughing as she went.

They joined most of the rest of the family in the kitchen, jumping in quickly to assist with the cutting of potatoes for the stew Mrs. Weasley had planned. Harry shook his head at them as they entered and Fred pretended to cower in fear of the almighty boy-who-lived.

They finished dinner with Harry telling stories of his time at Hogwarts, leaving out the obvious reason why he had gone in the first place. He amused them with the changes McGonagall had made with her role as headmistress. The most entertaining of which was the new, yearly, Christmas dance that the students were treated to. It seems their old professor had enjoyed the Yule ball more than she had let on.

“How’s good ol’ Slughorn?” Bill asked from his end of the table. He had known the wizard during his work in Egypt, the elder wizard having always on the lookout for rare and ancient magic tools to profit off of.

Harry nodded, taking another bite of the chocolate pie Mrs. Weasley had passed out earlier. “Seems fine. Had a whole new collection of photos to show me. Don’t think he’s forgiven me fully for tricking him sixth year, but-“ He shrugged and continued to eat.

He informed them of the rest of the professor’s status before everyone finished the meal, standing up to help clean the kitchen so Mrs. Weasley could go and relax. After Bill departed with Fleur and their two kids, it left Harry, Hermione, George and Fred left alone in the kitchen.

“Did you two hear from Ron yet?” George asked as he waved his wand at the stack of dishes next to the sink.

Hermione had completely forgotten about the news that Fred had shared with her a few days ago. The confusion look on Harry’s face made her feel better, at least she wasn’t the only one being kept out of the loop.

After she had explained what had happened with their friend, Harry struggled to keep the annoyance he felt from his face. “Well, good for him.” He said after a few seconds, his tone surprisingly even.

“Maybe they’ll name it after you, Harry.” George said with a grin. “What better namesake than the boy-who-lived?”

“What if it’s a girl?” Fred asked his twin.

George shrugged and picked up a pot to put away. “Harriet I guess? Merlin knows they won’t be picking Hermione now will they?” He said with a wink her way.

Hermione agreed wholeheartedly. There was no world in which she could imagine Lavender Brown every naming her child after her. Hermione’s previous romantic connection to he child’s father would guarantee that never happened.

“They can name the kid whatever they want.” Harry said, his voice sounding chillier than it had a minute earlier.

Hermione glanced over at her friend and found that his brows were furrowed, it was comforting to know that he was as annoyed at Ronald as she was. She went over to him and spoke in quieter tones, “Maybe it’ll come out sprouting horns.”

Harry smiled appreciatively back at her. The rest of the cleaning was finished after a few minutes and the group retired to the living room to wish the parents good night. After kissing his mother’s cheek, George turned to Fred and asked innocently, “You coming back to the flat tonight?”

Fred narrowed his eyes as his mother piped up at the words. “What do you mean? Where else would Fred be going?”

“Nowhere Mum, George is being delusional. Of course I’m going to the flat.” Fred said, as Hermione struggled to hide a smile at yet another attempt on George’s end to expose them to the world. Honestly she couldn’t imagine that Mrs. Weasley would be anything less than happy for them, though the animosity she received from the matronly woman during their fourth year with Rita Skeeter’s articles made her reconsider.

At it happened, Fred _was_ staying at his own flat tonight, knowing that Hermione had to work early in the morning and would need sleep. He sent her a small smile before apparating away with George, leaving her and Harry to make their way back to Grimmauld Place.

“So Ron really didn’t tell you?” Harry asked when they arrived back at the residence.

Hermione shook her head as she headed to the kitchen for some tea. She had thought she was over the annoyance of being left out of such an important moment in her friend’s life, but it all came rushing back with Harry’s similar reaction.

“No, and I just can’t believe it. I know that Lavender may not be our biggest fans, but I thought we were past all that.” She said as she put a pinch of tea leaves into her mug before adding the boiling water. She sat down at the kitchen table and looked at him, blowing on the steaming surface.

After a moment she sighed and ran a hand through her curly hair. “I know we aren’t as close as we used to be, but we went through everything together. The last he could do is to let us know what is supposed to be the happiest news of his life.”

Harry nodded. “It feels like he’s moving on so easily from all of this.”

Hermione glanced up at him. “Well, Harry, he didn’t really have anything to move on from.” She had been thinking about his ever since Fred told her the news. “Yes, the war was hard on everyone. We all had our individual battles, but he didn’t really have any great losses. I mean we all lost Lupin and Tonks, and Mad Eye, but there were no _personal_ losses for Ron.”

Harry frowned at the mention of those they had lost during the war, he thought of his Godfather Sirius and felt a sudden wave of sadness overtake him.

“You know he would be so proud of you Harry.” Hermione said, watching the shadow fall over his face. “Maybe not of Ron, but definitely of you.”

Harry snorted, “Well, Sirius always liked you better anyways.” He said with a grin her direction. It wasn’t something that his godfather had told him outright, but he could tell that the older man had held more affection for Hermione ever since she played her part in his rescue all those years ago.

“I’m sorry that Ron didn’t tell you.” Hermione said, knowing that in their school years, Harry and Ron were practically inseparable. She had sometimes felt like the third wheel of their friendship, often finding herself wondering if they only liked her because of the access to her notes and homework.

“He didn’t tell either of us Hermione.” Harry sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. “I’m not going to play games with him. He can tell us whenever he feels fit.”

Hermione agreed and finished her tea, rising with Harry to make their way up to their bedrooms. It felt good to have Harry back under the same roof, comforting to know that he was just right down the hall if she was going to be sleeping alone once again. She thought of Fred and her earlier comment about being in a relationship together. It already felt like they were in one, they spent most of their time together, had certainly shagged enough times, but they hadn’t ever officially talked about it.

She had told herself early on that she wasn’t going to go into this with any expectations, unsure of how Fred was in relationships. Her long history with him made her nervous when she thought of being with him, thinking of all of the times they had interacted in school. It was odd to think about that she had once considered him an older brother, and now to have done _things_ with him that were quite inappropriate for a brother/sister relationship.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice her bedroom door open behind her as she pulled back the bed clothes. It was only when she felt arms come around her from behind did she jump and turn, seeing the person she had been thinking about materialize behind her

“What are you doing here?” She asked, surprised after he had left with George a few hours ago.

He grinned and tugged her closer to him, “Just couldn’t stay away Granger, with you enticing offer of free healthcare.”

She chuckled and ran her hands down his arms. “Well you can stop by when I go to work tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, I do need to get to bed, so no funny business.”

The mischievous grin she had once recognized to mean trouble, spread across his face. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He said as he released her, bounding across the bed to settle himself into his now usual spot on the mattress. Hermione rolled her eyes and slid under the covers next to him, rolling onto her stomach to get comfortable. The room lights were extinguished with a flick of her wand and she closed her eyes in the comforting silence

A couple minutes later, Fred’s voice from besides her. “So when you say no funny business.”

She groaned and buried her face in her pillow. “Freddd.”

Her chuckled at her response, “Was only joking Granger. Good night.” He rolled onto his side and put a hand on her back, considerate enough to not interrupt her sleep further.

He could tell she had fallen asleep when the rise and fall of his hand on her back grew steady. Any attempts to make out her features in the darkness were unsuccessful and he raised his hand to her hair. The style suited her, it sprang around her shoulders in an almost playful way, the loss of the previously heavy length made the curls more defined and bouncy. The mousy brown had deepened and he found himself during the day, noticing streaks of deep brown.

She really was quite beautiful, it was amazing how one could be viewed in a different light just based off of changing relationships. He had never noticed her looks during school, other than the narrowing of her eyes when she had spotted George and him with any of their products. But now, he appreciated the gold specks in her eyes, the creaminess of her skin, her vanilla scent.

He sighed and moved closer to her, molding himself to her body as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He fell asleep easily next to her warmth, knowing that this is something he could get used to.

***

She woke the next morning feeling flushed, her heart was beating faster than she would have expected and she started to feel concerned until she felt a shock of pleasure between her legs. She moaned in response and turned her head, slowly opening her eyes to find Fred watching her. She was still on her stomach but could feel the movement of his hand between her legs, his fingers slowly circling her clit.

He smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her neck. Stretching beside him, she sleepily pressed her hips closer to her hand. Sensing her arousal, Fred increased his pace slightly, sliding his fingers up her slit to the warm, wet center of her. She could feel his fingers enter her and she mewled at the contact, breathing harder beneath his touch as she spread her legs slightly wider to allow him more access.

He had shifted up onto his elbow now to look down at her, pushing his fingers further into her as he moved the digits at a torturously slow pace, allowing her to close her eyes in pleasure. His two fingers stroked her wet center, and he watched her face.

After a few more minutes she said his name softly and he removed his hand, raising up on his knees to help her out of her pajama pants and knickers. Still feeling half asleep, she started to roll over but was stopped by the feel of Fred pushing her legs further apart and settling between them. Having already removed his bottoms, he slipped a hand between her and the mattress and raised her hips up, admiring the smooth skin of her back and bottom.

Aching with his own need, he lined his member up with her and pushed forward, sighed at the tightness of her gripping him as he went further. When he was finally seated inside her, he put a hand on her lower back, savoring the sensation of her warmth surrounding him. They fit together perfectly and Fred ran a hand over the smooth skin of her backside. When she pressed back against him, he groaned and started to move, pumping his hips into hers.

Their breathing and the soft snap of skin meeting were the only noises in the room. His pace increased as the grip of his fingers on her hips tightened, digging in to the soft skin as he pulled her against him. Hermione moaned into her pillow as Fred moved one of his hands around her front to circle her clit, sending shocks of pleasure up her spine.

Suddenly, he lifted her so that she was sitting back on his thighs, the fullness of him still seated deeply between her legs. The heat of his chest pressed close against her back while his hands slid across her abdomen and under her shirt to her breasts. Her hardened nipples tightened with pleasure as he tweaked the nubs, palming her breasts as he thrust against her. He held her tight against him and buried his face in her neck. The sensations he was giving her were jarring and she moaned openly, not even thinking about the fact that Harry was only a few doors down.

They rocked together, Hermione raised her hand behind her to grip Fred’s neck as he mouthed the skin of her shoulder. With one of his hands already gripping her breast, the other slid back down between her legs. With a few more movements of his fingers, the dam broke and she cried out as she came, stiffening as she let her head fall back against his shoulder.

He didn’t slow his pace as he felt her clenching around him, thrusting into her several more times before crying out his own release, gripping her tight to him as he emptied himself inside of her. After a few more sporadic thrusts, he collapsed, bringing them down forward to the bed as he kissed her shoulder.

When she had caught her breath, Hermione shifted under him, feeling his erection still seated inside of her. “Morning.” She said, as she moved her hips softly against him.

He grinned against the skin of her shoulder and shifted back, slipping out of her wetness with a groan. He kissed his way down her back and smiled as she shivered beneath him. The contours of her spine and buttocks were enticing as he stroked his fingers down her back. “Morning.” He finally said, placing a final kiss at the middle of her back.

She sighed and rolled beneath him so she was on her back, spreading her legs again so he could rest between her thighs. He propped his chin on her upper abdomen and leaned down to kiss between her breasts while she looked down at him, peacefully stroking a hand through the fiery hair on his head. When she had gone to sleep last night, she hadn’t expected to be woken up like this, let alone brought to such pleasure so early in the morning. Ron had never been one for morning sex so her mornings were usually filled with alarms, not orgasms.

Glancing down again, she found that he was now looking at her, smiling softly as she met his eyes. “What?” She asked, smiling softly back at him.

“You’re beautiful.” He said, pressing another kiss to her soft skin.

She chuckled and then gasped as he ran his fingertips across the underside of her breasts. The darkness outside of her window eluded to the early hour of the day, and she pondered the chance of going another round. Apparently having the same thoughts, Fred pushed himself up her body and pressed his mouth against hers. She sighed against his lips as she felt him push into her again, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved slowly against her.

***

Sometime later, Hermione found her way down to the kitchen, still feeling like her brain was in a haze from the three orgasms she had experienced this morning. Harry looked up at her when she entered and grimaced into his cup of coffee. She barely noticed him as she sat down at the table with a bagel.

As Harry sat down across from her, he sighed, causing her to look up. “You know, Hermione.” He said, trying not to meet her eyes. “As happy as I am for you and Fred, I don’t think I care to hear what I heard at 4 o’clock in the morning.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the break in updating! Started school again and it's been quite the semester so far :) Forgive any editing errors, brain is a bit mush...

It was still a few more weeks before Hermione or Harry saw Ron. Oddly he hadn’t been around to the Sunday dinners at the burrow which, prior to their pregnancy news, Mrs. Weasley had been a stickler about anyone missing. It seems that an owl of ‘Sorry Mum. Lavender is feeling tired’ was a good enough excuse not to be hunted down by the Weasley matron.

“You think if I sent a note that Crookshanks was tired I’d get an out too?” Fred asked, looking down at the cat that was kneading his thigh as he sat at the kitchen table.

Hermione grinned over at him from her spot perched on the counter where she was wordlessly spelling vegetables to chop on the counter across from her. She had just gotten home from work and found Fred trying to manually chop carrots, giving the excuse that he ‘wanted to try it the muggle way’. The three mismatched chunks of carrots unfortunately gave away his inexperience and he had thrown up his hands in defeat.

“Give it a try and see how it goes.” She offered with a tilt of her head, knowing that it would take something much more to deter Mrs. Weasley from her rampage. “Or maybe move to Paris.” She winked at him and he rolled his eyes in return.

“Or,” He said, picking up the cat as he stood to walk over to her, leaning against her knees as he scratched the orange fur behind the cat’s ears. “We could just tell Mum all about us and send her into shock.”

She bit her lip and tried not to smile as she leaned closer to him, wedging the now purring cat between them. Since their unofficial discussion of a relationship, they still hadn’t found a good time to announce it to anyone else. Not that they were really hiding anything anymore; but apparently their small displays of affection around the family was not a big enough announcement for them to understand the extent of their relationship.

“We can tell them whenever we want. It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong.” Hermione said as she lifted her hand to push away a lock of hair from his forehead. Her brown eyes dropped down to meet his. “Are we?”

Fred put the disgruntled Crookshanks on the ground and stepped between her knees, wrapping his arms around her waist. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with us being together. Unless you count the coronary Mum is going to have when she finds out.”

Hermione chuckled as he leaned closer to cover her lips with his. Her arms went about his shoulders and she had just started to part her lips to deepen the kiss, when—

“What the bloody hell is this?” A shocked voice sounded from the entrance of the kitchen.

Pulling away, both Hermione and Fred turned towards the voice and saw Ron standing at the door of the kitchen, a shocked and somewhat hurt look on his face as he stared at them. Now telling Mrs. Weasley was one thing, she would most likely be surprised at first before becoming ecstatic that her adoptive daughter might actually one day be her real daughter. Ron on the other hand, was the one person neither of them were looking forward to telling and his current reaction was enough justification in their hesitation.

Fred stepped back from Hermione as she slid from the counter. “Ron!” She exclaimed, glancing nervously up at Fred who was looking defiantly at his younger brother. “What are you doing here?”

However, it would seem as though she were invisible as Ron didn’t even look at her, didn’t even acknowledge her words, instead focusing his glare at Fred.

“Really?” His tone was a mixture of fire and ice as he took a step towards his older brother. “I get that it has always been your life mission to take everything important to me away, to always steal the attention from any good thing I could possibly do. But doesn’t the fact that I’m your brother mean anything to you?”

She felt Fred stiffen besides her and Hermione, confused, took a step forward towards her friend. “What are you talking about? Fred hasn’t taken anything from you.”

Ron turned his steely gaze on her finally and she felt a brief flash of recognition at the look in his eyes, the same one she had seen in a tent almost four years ago. She stopped in her advance as he all but sneered at her. Instinctively and irrationally she dropped her gaze to his neck to look for the telltale hint of the gold chain that had to be there.

“Hasn’t taken anything from me?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “How can you be so naïve? You are always on everyone’s side but mine. Fred and George have always taken the glory of everything. I mean hasn’t everyone in my life? Harry, Charlie, Ginny, these gits.” He gestured to Fred.

“I at least thought that you would have understood. Or that my siblings would have respected some boundaries.” Another step towards them. The look on his face now turned into a sneer as he regarded her. “At least you seem to have a very specific type, huh Hermione?” He asked maliciously. “What? George and Charlie were taken?”

She narrowed her gaze at his words, Fred had also taken a step towards his brother but Hermione held up a hand, stopping his advance. Ron continued however, “I’d have thought you could do better. Or at least know better. We’ve both heard the rumors of how Fred treats women, but-“ he shrugged, “maybe that’s what you’re into now.”

She wished she could wipe the sneer off of his face, but rational thought dictated that hexing Ron would only make things a thousand times worse. Clenching her hands into fists at her side, she met Ron’s brown eyes, so very different from Fred’s midnight blue ones.

“You have no reason to act like this.” She said coolly.

He scoffed and threw up a hand. “No reason to act like this she says. Well how about the fact that I just found out that my older brother is shagging my ex-girlfriend? Is that not a good enough reason Hermione?”

He turned to look at Fred then, smiling almost maniacally. “Though I guess I can’t blame you much Freddie. She is pretty good in the sack.”

Fred didn’t even need a wand to carry out his attack as he lurched forward and soundly punched Ron in the face. Hermione gasped as she heard a resounding crack echo throughout the otherwise silent kitchen, and watched as Ron fell backwards onto the tile floor, clutching at his now bleeding nose.

“Fred!” She said harshly as the twin stepped back from his brother, grimacing as he tried to shake out the sharp pain in his hand. Hermione knelt next to Ron and tried to move his hands away to examine his nose, knowing that it was most likely broken. However, Ron was not particularly receptive to her ministrations as he sharply pushed her away with one of his arms, making her teeter back on her heels.

“Geb the fug away fro’ me.” He blubbered, glaring at her, his words muffled by the blood streaming from his nose.

“Ron.” She protested, leaning towards him again. “Let me look at it. I can help.”

This time he pushed her harder and she fell with a thud on her backside, knocking her head against one of the legs of the heavy wood table.

“I don’ need a fugging whore touching me.” His words were icy as he stood up swiftly and, still clutching his bleeding nose, apparated from the kitchen.

Hermione and Fred were left alone once again, the silence around them a sharp contrast to the yelling match that had been occurring only seconds before.

Hermione sat on the floor, staring at the blank space where Ron had once been sitting, seeing the small drops of red on the gray tile floor. The past few minute had seemed like a whirlwind of events, seeming to have only taken up seconds since Ron had arrived. The thoughts racing through her mind refused to quite until the sharp pain from where she had hit her head broke through and she raised her hand to feel the bump forming on the back of her skull.

She rubbed at the spot and looked up as Fred crouched down in front of her, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you alright?” He asked, meeting her eyes. He hadn’t meant to hit Ron. Hadn’t meant to react to his words at all. He knew that Ron would be angry once he found out about him and Hermione, Fred had rehearsed his speech about not expecting to have feelings for the witch over and over in his mind. But in the moment, hearing his little brother call the woman he cared about a whore, he lost all control.

Hermione nodded and pushed herself up from the floor to stand, gripping Fred’s non injured hand to assist him up as well. She expected to see the kitchen in shambles but the only indication that there had been an altercation were the few drops of blood Ron had left behind.

She felt frazzled and could tell by the way Fred was staring at the empty space that he felt the same. Reaching out she took his injured hand in hers and examined it; his knuckles were already swelling and there was a dark bruise forming over the surface of his hand. He winced as she palpated the bones underneath.

“Come here.” She said as she guided him to the kitchen table. They both sat in chairs, facing each other as Hermione pointed her wand at his hand and started to heal it.

After a few moments Fred spoke, watching the bruising slowly fading from his hand as Hermione worked. “Well that could have gone better I think.”

Hermione glanced up at him. “Just a bit. Hitting him didn’t exactly help you know.”

He grimaced at the sharp pain that radiated up his arm as she finished her spells. Flexing his fingers he was pleased to find that they still worked, and he turned his gaze back to Hermione.

“Thanks.” He sighed as she continued to look at him with a serious expression. “You can’t really think that I should have just let him talk about you like that?”

She studied him for a few seconds before sighing and shaking her head. “No, I suppose not. But he was just angry. You know he didn’t mean what he said.”

Fred scoffed. “Hermione, I get he’s your best friend and everything but my brother can be the biggest arse. It sounded like he meant it.”

She winced slightly, not wanting to think that Ron had actually meant everything he said. His anger was one of the reasons she knew that they never would have worked out, but normally it was directed at something else and not her. In the time since their breakup, she had hoped that his mood swings would have calmed down a bit, but it seemed that he was still as explosive as ever.

She looked down as Fred took one of her hands in his, then raised her eyes to meet his.

“I’m not sorry I punched him.” He said and she raised her brows at him. “But-“ he continued quickly, “I am sorry that he found out like that. I know how much he means to you and I never wanted anything to come between you both, especially not me.”

She nodded and squeezed his hand. “I know. Honestly he was going to be upset either way.” She sighed. “Maybe we should have told everyone earlier.”

Fred raised a hand to her cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “We chose to tell people when we are ready. This is between you and me. I love my family, but they aren’t entitled to everything going on in my life, or yours for that matter.”

His words brought a small smile to her lips before she leaned forward and kissed him. Fred’s arms went around her shoulders as he rested his forehead against hers when they pulled apart.

“He’ll be fine. Once he realizes he is happily married with a baby on the way, he won’t give a lick about who his ex is dating.”

Hermione laughed and pushed away at his chest before standing up. She glanced down at him with a shake of her head. “I still cannot believe that he said you stole me from him. When did I ever belong to him?”

Fred grinned and reached out to grip her hips with his hands. “I like to think that I stole you. Makes me sound much more dashing, like a pirate.”

Her hands rested on his shoulders as she laughed. “Redbeard, the notorious ex-girlfriend stealing pirate. Has a good ring to it.” She said, running a hand through his hair.

“I could grow a beard.” Fred said, grinning up at her. “Would only add to my charm.”

***

One thing they hadn’t counted on was that the news spread of their relationship like wildfire now that Ron or actually, Lavender found out. Two days after the altercation with Ron, Hermione and Fred arrived together to Sunday dinner. Thinking that Ron and Lavender would be absent again, the couple didn’t put much thought into the effects of the fight with Ron earlier in the week.

However, as soon as they stepped in the door, it was immediately obvious that news of their relationship has reached the rest of the family. And the culprits were surprisingly present, sitting together in the living room.

Lavender stood immediately upon seeing Hermione and Fred. Placing her hands on her hips, the very slightest swell of her belly present under the flowy hot pink shirt she wore, fire burned in her eyes.

“You’ve a lot of nerve showing up here.” She seethed, taking a step towards them. The rest of the family was also sitting about the room and the looks on their faces showed that they had been told about the incident a few days ago.

Hermione glanced at Ron who wouldn’t meet her eyes, instead choosing to keep his eyes fixed on the fire blazing in the fireplace while Lavender went on her tirade. She didn’t quite know what to say.

“What are you on about?” Fred said from next to her, the tone of his voice giving away the hint of annoyance. “I can’t visit my family anymore?”

Lavender’s eyebrows raised and she sneered at him. “Family? Is that what you call them? Funny, I didn’t think that you attacked family members.”

George snorted quietly from Hermione’s left and muttered something about her not knowing this family then.

“Attacked?” Fred asked, his voice showing his surprise. “I’d call it more of a deserved wake up call.”

At this Ron did engage, standing to his feet in outrage as he glared at the new comers. “Deserved? You punched me! Broke my nose! I had to see a healer!”

Fred scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Hermione was right there. Could have saved you a trip. Though I guess you probably figured she wouldn’t want to help you after you called her a whore.”

“Fred.” Hermione admonished immediately, putting her hand on his arm. She knew that the angry back and forth would only lead to another punching match and the first one didn’t really solve anything.

This part of the story though, was obviously left out of the version that Ron had told the family as both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny looked at Ron with shocked looks. Mrs. Weasley got to her feet and stepped between her two sons.

“You called Hermione a what? Honestly did I not teach you better?” Her tone was icy and Hermione wished at that moment she could apparate out of the house and into oblivion. Ron at least had the foresight to look slightly ashamed down at his feet.

“Well,” Mrs. Weasley said turning back around. “I guess I can save my lecture for you Fred.”

Fred didn’t grin, instead he continued to glare at Ron. Hermione increased her pressure on his arm and he glanced back at her, his dark blue eyes warmed when they met hers.

Turning back towards the room he cleared his throat. “Well, if Ron hasn’t already told you, we just wanted to let people know that Hermione and I are seeing each other.”

“Bout time.” Hermione heard George mutter and she shot a glare in his direction. The younger twin grinned innocently and shrugged his shoulders.

Mrs. Weasley’s eyes widened, another part of the story was left out of Ron’s story. “What? When did this happen?”

“Long enough for them to be sleeping together.” Lavender said from behind her and Mrs. Weasley turned on her.

“I’d urge you to remember the beginnings of your own relationship dear before you start judging others.” Hermione looked with confusion as a knowing look seemed to pass between the two women and Lavender back down next to Ron, pursing her lips.

“It doesn’t matter.“ Mrs. Weasley said, turning back to her original line of inquiry. “I’ll say to you both what I’ve told all of your siblings, if you’re happy, that’s all I care about.”

Hermione felt a sharp pain of missing her own parents and wondered briefly what they would have said if she and Fred had been telling them about their relationship. She could only imagine that they too would have been happy for them. Blinking away the surprising sheen of tears that formed she stepped forward to embrace Mrs. Weasley, whispering her thanks in the other woman’s ear as her arms gripped her tightly in understanding.

The matriarch patted Hermione’s cheek as they pulled apart and Hermione turned back towards Fred who was watching them with a small smile. It’s not like he was bringing her home to meet his parents for the first time like a normal relationship, she had been a part of their lives for almost as long as he could remember.

“So,” George said standing and stretching his arms above his head. “When are we eating?”


	18. Chapter 18

As predicted, nothing changed after revealing their relationship to the family, besides Ron of course. In the six weeks that had passed since the kitchen fight, Ron and Lavender had been absent on Sundays, blatantly blaming the presence of Hermione and Fred. This seemed to bother Hermione more than it did Fred, who dismissed it as “just being Ron.”

Hermione found it hard to accept that her best friend hated her now. They had always had their ups and downs over the time of knowing each other, either Ron was angry at her for Crookshanks “eating” Scabbers, or Hermione was angry at Ron for being possessive when they were dating. But this felt different, this felt like something had truly broken in their friendship, and she wasn’t sure if it could be repaired.

Harry tried to act as a buffer between his two friends but with Ron’s increasing bad mood and Lavender’s persistent bad-mouthing of Hermione whenever she had a chance, Harry found himself spending less and less time in their presence. Instead, he spent most evenings that Hermione and Fred were at Grimmauld Place with them, truly enjoying the company and getting to know Fred better.

Soon the one year anniversary of their initial tryst in Paris approached, something Hermione was trying to avoid as she didn’t exactly know what was expected of them at this point. It wasn’t exactly when they had decided to be in a relationship, but it was the turning point of everything that had happened afterwards. She thought it significant but didn’t want to say anything about it in case Fred was like Ron and didn’t give a lick about any sort of special anniversary.

When the day came, Hermione said nothing. She dressed for work at Fred and George’s flat and sidestepped Fred reaching for her from the bed, grinning as he tried to seduce her into coming back to bed with him.

“Come on Granger,” he said with a sweet, sleepy smile. “I promise to make your morning the best one ever.” His hand reached out and ran along the pant leg of her scrub bottoms. He grinned slyly up at her and ran his hand a bit higher, smoothing over her bottom.

Hermione shook her head as she pulled her shirt over her head, stepping out of his reach before looking down at him as she pulled her wild curls into a twist. Fred pouted as his hand fell back on the bed but started to smile again as she leaned over him, placing her hands on either side of his head.

“I’ve had plenty of ‘best mornings ever’, thank you. Unfortunately, I’ll be late for work if this is one of them.” She placed a quick kiss on his lips and rolled her eyes as he groaned and fell back on the pillow dramatically.

“I’ll see you tonight.” She said and threw a final grin over her shoulder as she exited the room. Luckily her shift started early enough that George had yet to grace the kitchen with his usual presence. It had become a habit of his to insistently tease her every time she was at their flat, not that she minded, but again, it would make her late for work.

The solitude gave her a moment to drink a quick cup of instant coffee that she kept there for early mornings. As she drank, she stood in the silent kitchen overlooking the apartment; it was truly the work of two teenage wizards. The bright, clashing colors were splashed throughout the living area: deep magenta walls made her eyes water just as much as the bright orange couches and lime green rug did. It was the epiphany of a 70’s apartment and Hermione remembered George telling the story of them moving into this apartment and styling it so Molly never would want to visit. They apparently succeeded in their pursuits as the Weasley matron had only stepped foot in the apartment once, and that was to visit after Fred’s near-death experience after the battle.

Hermione blinked as feelings bubbled inside her, ones that in the past hadn’t accompanied the memories of Fred’s accident. It was different now to think about him in that situation; he was no longer her best friend’s older brother, now he was so much more to her. She blinked a few times as the entirety of her feelings washed over her and realized just as suddenly that she loved him, had for a while now, she thought.

Something about admitting it to herself for the first time was freeing and she began to smile. In the year since they both took that step that changed their relationship forever, she had fallen in love with the last person she had ever expected. She stood in the kitchen sipping her coffee, thinking happily about the man now probably sleeping soundly down the hall, wondering how plausible it was to skip out on work today and spend it in bed, professing her new found feelings over and over again.

Sighing, she remembered the list of appointments she had scheduled today at the clinic and finished her coffee. As the green flames of the floo engulfed her, she caught site of George appearing messily from his bedroom, looking confused at the fireplace. She threw him a wave as she disappeared, enjoying his disappointed look at not being able to banter with her.

***

The day flew by for her as the desire to stay home was quickly forgotten as her first patient presented with an overdose of a love potion. It was the nurse’s favorite patients as the object of their affection usually accompanied them in and the display of affection was quite amusing. Keeping a professional attitude, Hermione quickly mixed an antidote and returned to the exam room to find the man with his tongue shoved down the throat of his obsession. They pulled apart with a pop and the girl blushed deeply when she saw Hermione.

The man quickly sobered as he drank the dark liquid antidote. After a few more questions it seemed they had wanted to try a love potion to test the limits of their love, something Hermione shook her head at when she finally had discharged them.

When her shift finally ended she grabbed her jacket and bag before apparating into Diagon Alley. Since being back in England she had accepted the fact that her status as a member of the golden trio had ultimately awarded her celebrity status as it was hard for her to even walk down the street without being recognized and approached. She tried to make her way quickly down the street, keeping her head bowed against the bustling wind.

The store was warm and inviting as ever when she entered, the small bell rang quietly against the bustling crowd that occupied the colorful space. Standing on her toes she could see one of the twins at the register, but she wasn’t quite tall enough to see clearly who it was. Making her way over she saw happily that it was Fred and she watched as he assisted a young boy with the purchase of a pigmy puff.

As the customer retreated from the counter, Fred looked up and met her eyes as she approached him. The dark blue warmed immediately as he smiled at her, coming around the counter to greet her. It felt so natural the way his arms came around her as he hugged her and she immediately felt the same rush of emotions that she had felt this morning in the flat.

They pulled apart and Hermione stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. “How’s your day been so far?”

Fred gestured halfhazardly to the floor of the shop that was bustling with customers, “This is about the slowest it’s been so far. But hey!” He said excitedly and ducked behind the counter, grinning as he came up to meet the confused look on her face.

He was holding something behind his back and produced a small package wrapped in deep blue paper which he held out to her, a large grin across his face. “Happy drunken-sex anniversary Granger.”

Her brows raised as she looked at the offered gift before she laughed, the amount of thought that she had put into not wanting to mention the significance of the day immediately felt wasted.

“You remembered.” She said, feeling oddly touched at his thoughtfulness. It wouldn’t have bothered her if he hadn’t said anything about the day but the fact that he had so matter-of-factly presented the significance of it made her cheeks ache with smiling. “Oh, but I didn’t get you anything.” She said, feeling stupid for letting her doubts earlier interfere with getting Fred a gift.

He shrugged and kissed her forehead, smoothing back the curl that had fallen next to her face. “Well it’s not exactly like this is our official anniversary love. Besides, you can give me my gift later, I see you even wrapped it.” He said with a grin as he plucked at her shirt.

He chuckled as she swatted his hand away. “So should I open it now or..?” The wrapping felt velvety under her fingers and she examined it, glancing up at him for an answer.

“I guess it’s up to you, but I did have a bit of something planned for tonight if you wanted to wait.”

“Well that seems a bit of a tease.” She said, pursing her lips at him.

A glint of deeper blue shone in his eyes as he leaned closer to her. “That’s the idea. Figured it would be fun to watch you fidget. You never were one for delayed gratification.”

She widened her eyes at him, catching the undertone of his words. “There are children around.” She admonished him, biting her lip to keep from smiling.

Fred shrugged and scoffed. “Please, they’re shopping here, not like they are all that innocent.”

One of the not so innocent kids butted between them, tugging on Fred’s magenta work robes to get his attention. Fred shot a grin to her as he turned towards the insistent boy, giving his customer his undivided attention. She watched him for a second, letting the smile slip onto her face before turning away and making her way out the front of the store again. Knowing that Fred had plans already made, she figured she should probably go home and change.

***

Fred whistled when he saw her enter the now empty shop. The slight blush that crossed her cheeks only enhanced how absolutely stunning she looked walking towards him. Her eyes seemed darker and her hair was once again curling seductively about her shoulders, it was longer now than it had been a year ago and part of him missed the quick access to her neck.

The deep blue of the silk tank top she was wearing was tucked into tight black pants, the lace trim begged him to run his hands over her. The oversized sweater she wore over everything was a dark maroon and swamped her upper body, reminding him just how lithe she was.

He had changed as well, she noted, thankful that he now wore a button up shirt and jeans instead of the deep pink robes he had sported earlier.

“And this is why we have to have a drunken-sex anniversary you know.” He said with a grin, gesturing to her body. “You’re quite the temptress.”

“You’re right,” she countered back. “Because I definitely had to force your participation that night.”

He shrugged, “I was pure and untouched, Granger.”

The sound of Hermione’s laugh brought George out from the back room. They had closed an hour ago and George had taken pity on Fred and offered to do his share of the clean up from the day, not that he minded. The sooner he had Hermione as his sister-in-law, the sooner he could take advantage of her to enhance their brilliance.

“Well don’t you clean up nicely.” He said as he leaned across the back counter and rested his chin in his hands.

“Thanks Georgie,” Fred said, intercepting the compliment. “I’ve always told you that my clothes are your clothes so if you ever want to borrow anythi—”

George cut him off with a shake of his head, “Yeah wasn’t talking to you Freddie.” He grinned at Hermione who rolled her eyes but thanked him.

“So as my brother just wants you for your body Hermione, can I have your brain?” He asked, still grinning.

Hermione raised her eye brows and seemed to consider it. “Sure. Though Frankenstein didn’t exactly have the best reputation you know.”

She laughed at George’s confused look, and she and Fred said their good nights as the exited the shop into the chilly fall air of Diagon Alley. There were clouds over head, so different from the clear and warm night they had share in Paris a year ago. Hermione looked up at the darkened sky for a moment and remembered the brightness of the moon that had shone on her and Fred’s drunken walk home that night.

“What are you thinking?” Fred asked as he glanced over at her.

Her eyes found his and she smiled slightly, “Just that I’m happy. And that this-“ she lifted their hands that were clasped together, “-is absolutely crazy.”

Fred squeezed her hand in his and nodded. “I think we were destined.” They continued to walk down the cobbled street.

“Destined?” Hermione asked, hopping to avoid a small puddle that had accumulated.

“Sure. Destined, fated, pre-determined.” He said and she nudged his shoulder. Laughing he continued, “honest. I knew the moment you threatened to tell my mother on me that you had fallen for me.”

“Right.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. “And I suppose that I was simply to shy to admit it, so it took 7 years and dating your younger brother to admit it to you?”

“Right. You were always one to hide how you really feel about things.” He stopped when he felt her pause in her step. Turning to her, he found that her expression wasn’t humorous like he had expected. “What is it?” He asked, searching her dark eyes that were lit up by the dim street lights.

She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking. “I love you.” She said it matter of factly, like she would have said as if answering a question in class. “I think I have for a while now. And I didn’t want to keep that from you. And you don’t have to say anything, I’m not expecting you to, I just wanted you to know that I love you and—” She was rambling and squeaked in surprise when Fred leaned down to kiss her.

When they pulled apart, he lifted a hand to cup her cheek. “You’re supposed to give me time to respond you know.”

She laughed nervously. “And if I had?”

He grinned and kissed her again. “Then I would have told you that I love you too. And that you talk too much.”

She laughed and shook her head before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him, ignoring the breeze that nipped at their cheeks.

“You know.” He said, his eyes barely open when they pulled apart. “I think we could skip the evening plans and go straight for the encore. Not like this is our real anniversary anyways.”

She nodded and gripped him tightly as he turned on the spot and apparated them directly into her bedroom at Grimauld Place. As she fell back onto the bed she silently thanked Harry for having to work tonight and giving them the entire place to themselves. As Fred kissed his way down her neck, she sat up suddenly.

“Wait!” She said, pushing him back. “My present.”

Fred rolled his eyes and tried to ignore his aching need before picking up his jacket where he had thrown it on the floor and withdrew the small package from his pocket. “I see where your priorities lie.” He said as he tossed it to her.

“Gifts are always the priority.” She said with a grin and tore through the wrapping. The small box inside opened with a click and she stared at the fine gold chain tucked inside. It was barely there with how thin the tiny links were but sparkled in the dim light regardless. The tiny opal that hung from the chain gleamed rainbows as she fingered the delicate pendant and looked up at him.

“I love it.” She said, setting it aside before rising up on her knees to twine her arms behind his neck as she kissed him. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome.” He said, feeling the warm tingle in his head at her kiss.

“Now,” she said, leaning back and running her hands down his front. “Why don’t you unwrap your present?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! Long story short, grad school sucks. But I hope to use my long, wonderful, snow-filled break to crank out some Fremione love. I've missed it and I hope you enjoy!


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione fingered the pendent necklace as she filled out paper work in the hospital a month later. It was warm in her fingers and she hadn’t taken it off since receiving it that night. As the small bell rang over the emergency entrance, Hermione glanced up as a man stumbled in. He was large but this was understated by the way he was bent over, stumbling over his own feet as he bumped into the chairs along the corridor. His clothes were tattered and he seemed to be clutching his side making no noises as he continued forward. Brows furrowed, she tucked the necklace back beneath the neckline of her shirt and stepped around the counter towards the man. A few of the other staff in the area had also stood, moving towards the new comer.

“Sir. Are you alright?” Hermione asked. He didn’t look up at her and took another awkward step forward towards where she stood just feet from him. When he stopped suddenly and started to lean, Hermione glanced down where his hand clutched his side and saw with shock that it was bright with fresh blood.

She stepped forward quickly at the same time that the man started to collapse, trying to catch his massive weight as she called for help. Several of the nurses sprang into action and raced forward to assist Hermione who was crumbling under the weight of the fully grown man.

As the three of them started to lift the man to support his weight, Hermione helped to lean him back onto the stretcher that was brought to them. He was shaking now as his hand slid off of his side and Hermione saw the source of his bleeding; there was a large jagged wound to the side of his torso that was weeping blood freely and quickly.

Instincts took over as she quickly placed her own hands over the large wound and leaned into him, applying as much pressure to staunch the flow of blood. The warmth under her fingers was still coming and felt wet and slippery as they moved with the stretcher to a nearby exam room, equipped with further potions and equipment.

They worked in a frenzy, it was nowhere near the worst wound that Hermione had ever seen but the man must have been bleeding for some time since his injury. He was out cold at this point and Hermione precariously watched the monitor that measured his vitals, seeing the numbers continue to drop. She continued with the spells and salves that came second nature to her at this point and watched with satisfaction as, after several minutes of work, the blood flowing from the wound slowed to barely a trickle, and then nothing at all.

When the room settled a bit and they watched as the tattered skin began to close, Hermione stepped back and surveyed her work. She loved magic. Having been trained in muggle medicine, she knew that without magic her patient would be on his way to an operating room right now to repair the massive amount of internal damage he had suffered. But within only a half hour, he was on his way to healing and the color was slowly returning to his cheeks.

Crisis averted, the nurses went about their jobs of settling the patient in for observation. Hermione washed the now drying blood from her hands and watched as his vitals continued to improve. Satisfied with her work, she left the room after giving instructions for further monitoring.

She was still pondering over the identity of the man when, a few hours later Fred approached her where she was sitting at the desk beyond the emergency entrance. She had wanted to stay in the vicinity of her earlier patient until he was awake and she could find out what had happened to him. The ministry had sent down law officials to investigate the incident but there wasn’t much they could do until the man woke up.

“Hey.” She said as he leaned against the desk top that held her scattered papers.

He smiled down at her and bent to press a quick kiss of greeting to her lips. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you how appealing you look in scrubs.”

She rolled her eyes swatted him away when he tried to kiss her again. “How come you’re here?” She asked when he pulled back. “Not sick are you?”

He shook his head, “I can’t visit my girlfriend at work? Not that I wouldn’t mind you taking care of me if I were sick.” He winked at her.

She laughed and leaned back in her chair to study him. He had still been sleeping when she slipped out of bed early this morning, and as he had been up late the night before with George down in the store room, she knew it would be hours before he rose. But he looked well rested now, his eyes bright as they looked down at her. His jeans and worn T-shirt eluded to his day off and she wished she could spend it with him.

“If you were sick then I’m sure the certain _caring_ _activities_ you have in mind would definitely be of the table until you got better. Don’t you know you have to rest when you don’t feel well?”

He leaned closer to her, “The activities did involve a bed so resting wouldn’t be out of the question.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled just a loud crash sounded out across the hallway. Both of them spun towards the sound and Hermione was on her feet in an instant when she realized it was coming from the room of her patient. Fred followed closely behind her as she and a few other nurses rushed towards the room as more loud bangs and clashes continued to sound out in the hall.

In the room, the man was out of bed and yelling when Hermione entered, looking half crazed as he struck out at the orderly who had tried to restrain him. One of the nurses was on the floor after he had shoved her away from him, hard enough to knock her backwards and she was trying to scramble to her feet. Fred reached out and assisted the middle-aged woman up before they both turned back to the scene in front of them.

As the physician, Hermione stepped forward and held up her hands to the man. Dressed now only in a hospital gown, the sheer muscular mass of him was more evident than it had been earlier and he towered over her small frame. She could see the panic in his eyes as he scanned the room but he didn’t seem to comprehend anything about his surroundings and swiped out at another nurse.

“Get the fuck away from me!” He yelled as he flipped the side table over, sending the small glass vials that had been resting on it shattering to the floor. The noise seemed to startle him and he yelled out, swiping at empty air.

She didn’t want to have to stun him but her fingers twitched for her wand as she took another step forward. “Sir please. It’s alright, you’re in a hospital.”

“Stay the fuck away from me!” He yelled again and threw a vial of medicine at her head. She dodged it and it crashed to the wall behind her. Fred reached for her arm to pull her back but she shook him off, this was her job and damn if she was going to turn and run from it.

“Please, you need to calm down. We’re not here to hurt you.” She said again, keeping her voice calm and steady as she stood stalk still in front of the raging mass in front of her.

“Bullshit. Lying cunt.” His voice was a snarl as his dark eyes finally locked on hers. They were crazed, almost inhuman as they seemed to stare right through her, not even seeming to register who he was looking at. There was something familiar about the darkness in them but Hermione pushed the thought away as he took a taunting step towards her and clenched his fists.

“Hermione.” Fred said, his voice cautious as he sensed a change in the man, watching as the goliath took another step towards the small witch.

Everyone jumped and turned towards the door as a loud bang sounded from a shelf that had been knocked over by one of the nurses backing into it. In that moment of distraction, the patient saw his opening and as Hermione turned to look, he lunged for her.

She barely got out a yelp as she felt his large hands wrap themselves around her throat and they stumbling, fell backwards to the floor. He was as heavy as he was tall and his fingers tightened their hold, his crazed eyes now inches from her. The momentum of their fall had stars flashing across her vision as her head hit the ground with a sharp slap.

“You fucking lying whore.” The man snarled in her face as Hermione clawed at the hands on her throat, feeling the air cut off from her lungs. Spittle flew from his lips and up close she could see the pinprick pupils of his eyes. Fred had leapt forward at the attack along with the two nurses and they were trying in vain to pull the man off of her but he held on tight. “You’ll die like the rest of them.” The man grinned and tightened his grip digging his knee into her leg as he did, not even seemed bothered by the three people fighting against him. Her vision was beginning to spot as she choked for air, kicking out from underneath him.

A flash of bright purple lit the room and Hermione barely registered as the man’s eyes went blank, his mouth slackened as the weight of him fell fully against her, crushing her to the hard floor. His fingers went slack on her throat and she weakly pushed at his hands, gasping when air entered her screaming lungs.

As they rolled the man off of her, Fred immediately dropped to his knees and put his hands on either side of her face as she gasped for air.

“Just breathe.” His voice was sharp and panicked as his eyes showed the fear he felt as he searched her face. He hadn’t felt that scared in a long time. The events had happened in an instant, the man just leapt at her, crashing both of them to the ground. He was so large that they could barely see Hermione from under him but the choking sounds she made filled his mind. The primal instinct in all of them had taken over as they tried to physically restrain him before any one of them remembered they were magical.

The stunning spell he had used worked in an instant and he cursed himself for not using it earlier, so much for his DA training on quick reflexes. He looked down at her again and saw as she closed her eyes, fighting the pain in her throat and body as she took raspy breaths. His eyes dropped to the fresh bruising on her throat was already starting to form and a new wave of anger overtook him as he glared at the mass of man that was now being lifted back on the bed.

“Move, we need to get her.” A hard voice came from over him as a hand pushed him back from above her. He met the eyes of the older man who had pushed his way into the now over crowded room and was wearing the same scrubs that Hermione also wore, another healer.

Hermione opened her eyes at the newcomer and he could see small pricks of red in the whites where tiny vessels had broken. They lifted her from the floor and Fred scooped her up in his arms to bring her into the next room while the older physician looked her over. She was breathing easier now but the whistling was still there as her eyes met Fred’s over the doctors shoulder.

After a quick exam and several spells, the noise from her airway quieted and she closed her eyes briefly as the majority of the pain disappeared, her head still ached and she rubbed a hand over the spot that had collided with the floor and felt the bump that was now there.

Sighing she looked up at her colleague, “Thank you.” She said quietly, testing her voice and found that while a bit raspy, was still functioning.

The doctor nodded and performed another exam, asking her to breathe deeply while he held his stethoscope to the side of her neck and chest. “So,” he said when he finished and was reassured that there was nothing left for him to do. “What did you do to piss him off?” His green eyes glinted and twinkled as he looked at her.

She shook her head at Dr. Weaver, her mentor and friend who had been the one who allowed her to initially shadow him to see what the medical world was like those years ago. He had been the one to suggest Paris to her as a training location and had been the one to recruit her services when she graduated.

“Saved his life apparently. You know how people can be, so ungrateful.”

The older man chuckled and nodded over his shoulder towards Fred. “This the one I’ve heard about?”

Fred was standing to the side of the doorway, his mind still reeling from previous events as he looked between the two healers with a bewildered look. “I’m sorry, what the hell just happened?”

Hermione smiled slightly and winced when she tilted her head at him. “Well, a patient went crazy and attacked someone. I heard it was quite the ruckus.”

He made a frustrated noise and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Yeah, I got that part, I was there. So are you alright?” He came to her side and surveyed her, wincing at the site of her neck, rage filling his brain seeing the bruises. Her hair was an absolute mess and he instinctively raised a hand to tuck a curl behind her ear.

“Oh, she’ll be just fine.” The white haired physician said, patting Hermione on the shoulder with affection. “Barring the bruising everything else is as right as rain.”

Not saying anything he watched her face, still seeing evidence of the damage that had been done.

“I’m fine.” She said, seeing that his concern hadn’t been abated by the reassuring older physician. “Really. Magic does wonders.”

He nodded but didn’t look away.

Dr. Weaver cleared his throat behind them, “I’ll just step out and check on the hulk next door. You let me know if you need anything.” Nodding to both of them he slipped out the door, sensing that they needed some time.

After his exit Hermione reached up to grasp the hand that Fred still had resting on her cheek. “I’m really okay.” Her dark eyes flicked over his face and saw with relief that the hardness started to melt.

He blinked a few times and gathered her close to him, feeling the reassuring warmth of her as his nerves started to relax. Her job as a healer always sounded so peaceful and calm, never in his wildest dreams had he imagined her being attacked at work would be taken so lightly.

“Well that officially raised my blood pressure.” He said, turning his cheek into her hair as she sighed in his arms.

“Mine too.” Her voice was muffled in his shirt but she pressed closer, feeling safe in the circle he made around her.

Pulling back she smoothed down her hair, trying to avoid the sore spot on her scalp. “That doesn’t happen often does it?” Fred asked tentatively, watching as she rubbed gingerly at her neck.

Glancing up at him she shook her head. “Only once in a blue moon, less so. There have been violent patients before but I’ve never actually been physically assaulted by one before. It took me a bit off guard.”

He raised his brows and remembered the crash of her falling to the floor underneath the bulk of the man. “I’ll say. Well it’s good to know that it’s not just my job that comes with hazards.”

She laughed as she slid off of the exam table and found her feet, “Yes but at least mine isn’t self-inflicted.” She had treated him and George a few times since being back in the country. Mostly from burns from exploding potions or whatever other side effects their creations caused.

He followed her from the room and down the hall, entering what appeared to be a locker room. He watched as she pulled her scrub top over her head and drew a sharp intake of breath as he saw other bruises blossoming across her chest and torso.

“What?” Hermione asked, hearing him. He gestured and she glanced down, fingering one of the darkening spots on her abdomen. “I didn’t even feel these.” But then shrugged and grabbed a high necked shirt from her locker and pulled it over the light cream colored bra she wore before putting her scrub top back on after that.

“You’re not staying here are you?” Fred asked, furrowing his brows. He thought they had come in here to grab her things but she had shut the locker door without her bag or jacket.

“I can’t go home Fred. I still have four hours left on my shift.”

“Yes but I’d think after getting strangled you could take some sick leave or something.”

She rolled her eyes again as she stepped by him. “I’m not going home. I feel just fine and honestly I want to follow through with this patient. Getting attacked by him sort of makes me more invested oddly.”

They made their way back out to the hallway and Hermione walked down to the room they had all raced to less than an hour before. The patient was now laying quietly on the bed, obviously still under the effects of the stunning spell Fred had got him with earlier.

“Does he look familiar?” Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes as she studied the peaceful face of the man who had attacked her, the face that was nagging at her memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll I don't know where to take this. Plots are hard. It started out all mushy and crap but now I want some intrigue and excitement. But I'm a generally boring person and trying to come up with outlandish situations for fremione can seem so fake. Keeping a story "realistic" and believable (or as believable as a magical community can get) is important to me as I don't want you all to cringe while reading. I'm open to any feedback as this story is also for you as much as it is for me. Plus you're keeping me from studying for the MCAT so the distraction is much appreciated :)


	20. Chapter 20

She couldn’t get over the nagging feeling that somehow she had seen that man before, there was just something about his eyes that pulled at her. Fred didn’t think he looked familiar to him and no one else seemed to know either. When the man finally woke up, he was just as irritable as he had been before, requiring constant surveillance by ministry officials who stood outside his door as yells of profanity littered the halls.

After a few days of his increasingly agitated yelling, Hermione had had enough, the rest of the staff had had enough, even the ministry officials who were specifically trained to deal with this type of chaos had had enough.

They stepped in front of the door when she marched down the hall to stand in front of them. “You can’t go in there.” They said, one of them crossing his arms as he surveyed her. The sounds coming from the room behind him were almost animalistic.

Scowling she mimicked him with her own arms. “He is my patient, I need to check on him. And to be honest, this is a hospital, not a jail.”

They still didn’t move and she huffed out a breath, trying to ignore her bubbling annoyance.

“Look,” she said. “I don’t really suppose you fancy being on guard duty for a belligerent individual, and we don’t particularly enjoy having him here. Now, if I can go in and medically clear him, then you can take him wherever your heart’s desire and do your actual job instead of congesting our hallways.”

She glanced between the two of them and saw some of their resolve fall as another loud roar sounded out from behind them. As trained and orderly as they were, standing in the hallways of a hospital for hours on end was not exactly what they had signed up for. They had better facilities and equipment to deal with him at the ministry.

Nodding, they stood aside, reminding her that he was behind a barrier and they would be coming in with her.

The man’s face was red but he stopped beating the invisible barrier as soon as he saw her enter and stood still, lowering his raised fists as his lips turned upward in a sickly smile. Her skin crawled with the gesture but she stepped forward.

“Good to see you up and about.” She said calmly, thankfully aware of the presence of the two guards behind her.

The grin turned into a sneer. “A few more minutes with you and you never would have gotten up again.” He said. The voice was like gravel and grated at her ears and he stepped suddenly up to the shield, causing her to instinctively step back in response.

He laughed. “Scared little bitch.” He said and licked his lips. “Let me hear you scream again.” His voice was like syrupy acid, cooing across the short distance between them and yet grating in her ears.

“Again?” She asked, trying to keep her tone even. She hadn’t remembered screaming during his assault the other day, in fact she was absolutely sure that she hadn’t. They had all been too shocked by the actions of that day that she couldn’t remember any one exclaiming much. 

“You scream so prettily.” He continued, the black eyes still boring into hers. “Bella made you do it. And now it’s my turn.”

The name brought a rush of realization to Hermione and she suddenly remembered exactly where she had seen him before. He was among the group that was at Malfoy Manor when they had been picked up by snatchers during the war. She had no idea who he was but remembered his dark presence in the corner of the room when Bellatrix had tortured her. He was there, watching as she withered on the floor under that vile witch’s wand, his eyes had followed her hungrily as she had been dragged by the hair across the floor.

“Are you a death eater?” She asked, pushing down everything the memory had brought up in her.

He continued to grin at her. “Those fools were nothing. Nothing compared to the Dark Lord. And nothing compared to me.”

“Who are you?” She asked.

His big head inclined towards her. “You’ll find out soon enough and I look forward to getting to know you better.” The sneer returned and with the quickest of movements that Hermione barely had time to register, he was gone.

She blinked at the empty space in front of her and opened her mouth to say something. The guards behind her responded immediately and pushed her aside as they brought the shield charm down and rushed into the space that had just moments ago been occupied. There was still a scent of him that lingered, dark and repugnant. Hermione stood stock still in shock as the two men scanned the room.

“What the bloody hell just happened?” One of them asked, turning back to her. Turning up nothing in their quick search, they rounded on the stunned healer.

She shook her head, trying to process the same question. He had been behind a shield, in a hospital that didn’t allow for apparition inside its walls, the shields were the same ones that Hogwarts used. There was absolutely no way he could have simply disappeared. His action and those chilling last words were making her head spin.

“I don’t know. He just vanished.”

“Yes we saw that. But how?”

Again Hermione shook her head and they made a noise of annoyance and a flurry of activity started again. One of them grabbed her arm and steered her out into the hallway while the other rushed ahead to apparate to the ministry to alert other officials.

“You knew him.” The one that was currently tugging her towards the end of the hallway asked. He was tall and had black, curly hair above a pale face that held more than a few scars.

Hermione stumbled a bit against his motions and pulled at her arm. “Where are we going?” She asked, her wits coming back to her as she felt the sharp pressure of his fingers on her arm. Glancing over her shoulder to the stunned faces of her colleagues, she pushed at him and stopped in her tracks, bracing herself. “Stop!” She said sharply.

The man didn’t release her arm but did stop walking. Turning towards her, he glanced down the hallway. “You knew him?” he repeated and took a step towards her.

“I don’t know.” The grip tightened on her arm. “I mean I’ve seen him before but I have no idea who he was.”

He shook his head and started tugging her again as he continued to walk. “You need to come in.”

“Where?” Hermione asked, trying to lengthen her stride to keep up with him. He didn’t answer but instead made it past the apparation guards and turned on the spot, dragging her with him through the spinning darkness.

The floor under her feet was solid when they landed and she jerked her arm out of the grasp of her captor. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” The onyx tile walls around her were familiar and she recognized the inside of the Ministry of Magic immediately. “I can’t just leave. I have other patients.”

The man had started down the dark hallway and threw his words curtly over his shoulder. “That’ll be taken care of. Come with me.”

Hermione stood rooted to the spot for a moment more but seeing that he wasn’t going to be waiting for her, glanced around before jogging after him. “What are we doing here?”

He ignored her and pushed open a door at the end of the hallway into a dimly lit room. Desks lined the walls and the rush of black robes made her blink as people rushed about the room. She stood for a moment taking in the familiar space that she had visited many times before.

“Hermione?” Came a voice from her left.

Turning she let out a breath of relief as she saw Harry standing there, looking at her with concern and question.

“Harry!” She exclaimed with a breath before rushing to him, ignoring the protest from the guard that had brought her in. He followed her and stood by as Hermione launched into an explanation of what had happened only minutes earlier.

“Did you recognize him?” Harry asked, the auror in him immediately taking over his persona.

“No,” Hermione shook her head. “Not exactly. I remember seeing him that night, at the manor. But I couldn’t tell you anything more about him.”

The guard produced a photograph form his robe pocket and held it out to Harry who studied it before shaking his head and handing it back.

“I don’t remember seeing him. And he’s not on the registry?” he asked the guard.

The ministry had created a registry of all of the known death eaters who had actively participated during the war. Many of them had escaped after Voldemort’s defeat, thought to be hiding out across Europe, not daring to show their faces as they would immediately be transported to Azkaban.

“He’s not on any registry.” The guard said. “According to the ministry, he doesn’t exist.”

Hermione scoffed. “Well according to everyone who saw him in the past few days, he does very much exist.”

He shot her an annoyed look and she shrugged at the look Harry threw at her. “Well it’s not like the Ministry knows everything.”

The two aurors ignored her as they moved through the office with her trailing behind. They spoke to different individuals for the next hour forbidding Hermione to leave until they figured things out more. Tired of being ignored, Hermione found Harry’s office and made herself comfortable behind his desk, fiddling with the sparse knickknacks that scattered the surface. It must have been over two hours later before the door to the office opened and Harry walked in.

She was slumped in his chair with her feet on the desk, spinning her wand around her fingers as she counted the tiles along the edge of the ceiling.

“Sorry.” Harry said as he closed the door and crossed the room to her. Hermione didn’t even look at him as she continued to ignore him, as they had ignored her since her arrival, essentially trapping her in the department.

Harry sighed and leaned against the desk. “Hermione I’m sorry. There were things that needed to be done.”

Silence.

He poked her foot. “What is it going to take?”

She glanced at him then and swung her legs off of the desk. Turning in the chair she very businesslike folded her hands in front of her as she tipped her face up to look at her best friend.

“Well, in addition to groveling at my feet for keeping me a prisoner here while you all go about your day, you can tell me what the fuck is going on.” He winced at her tone and the profanity that she very rarely used.

“I’m sorry.” He began again but she cut him off.

“You’ve already said that.”

Sighing he dropped into a chair on the opposite side of the desk. “You’re not a prisoner. But we didn’t exactly think it was safe to let you go out unprotected with someone who basically told you that he was coming after you.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “He did not say that.”

“ _I look forward to getting to know you better_. _It’s my turn to make you scream_.” Harry repeated the man’s words back to her. “You’re right. He was definitely just dropping by to say hello.”

Pursing her lips, she stayed silent.

“Hermione. This man was able to get by all of the hospital’s shields as well as those put in place by one of our best aurors.”

She snorted. “I wouldn’t exactly call him your best.”

Harry held up a hand, “Bladgen is one of our best, don’t do that. This man physically hurt you, then threatened you, knows exactly who you are but we have not a clue who the hell he is.” He leaned forward and fixed her with an intense glare. “He got past some of the best shields we can do, and from the account of it, did so quite easily. You really think that you were going anywhere while he is still out there?”

“So what?” She said angrily. “I’m just supposed to live here in your office forever? And you could have come in and updated me you know? I was sitting here, by myself, after being dragged forcefully out of my work without a lick of information of what was going on.”

“And I’ve already apologized. At the time, figuring out who this person was seemed a little more important than your comfort.”

She gaped at him but he didn’t look away, it was his job to protect people and when it was his best friend involved, the person he cared about the most in the world, you could be damn sure that he was going to take his job seriously.

“So what’s the verdict then? Am I free to go?” She asked.

“Yes and no.” At her raised brows she continued. “You can leave, but with me. We’re going home and until we catch this guy you’ll have an escort at all times.”

She felt her mouth drop open and she stood in frustration. “You can’t be serious.” He nodded and she threw her hands up. “Harry I’m not going to have a bloody body guard. It was one simple little threat. We’ve been threatened before. You quite literally have had someone trying to kill you your entire life and yet I didn’t see you with a body guard ever.”

He continued to look at her calmly, “Yes but we had Dumbledore, the ministry had records of Voldemort and I think we all knew that he would make my death a public grand affair. We have no idea who this person is, he didn’t exactly leave us a nice little plan with when he plans to go after you. And-“ he said, holding up his hand as she opened her mouth, “- you’re my best friend. And that means a lot here. You’re my best friend and very publically known as someone who helped me.”

“Then why don’t you have a body guard? I’m sure there are plenty of people out to get you.” Hermione asked, the annoyance dissipating.

“I’m the boy who lived.” Harry said with a quick smile. “I’m a weapon.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the desk in front of him. “A weapon who could barely pass divination.”

He shrugged and nodded, “but a weapon none the less.”

She crossed her arms and looked at the floor. Harry reached out and put his hand on her knee. “Hermione this is what we do. And I’m sorry if you don’t like it but you’re not getting hurt. I’m not going to let you.”

He didn’t flinch under her scowl but instead stood up and pulled his auror robes off, hanging them on the hook near the door and switched them for his jacket.

“Now, we can sit here arguing for another hour or we can go home? I’m leaning towards the second because I’m pretty hungry.” He opened the door and held it open, sending a questioning look back at her.

She considered taking him up on his offer of an argument but realized just how hungry she was as well. Sighing she breezed past him into the hallway and started walking, leaving Harry behind to roll his eyes at her retreating form.

They had been home for only an hour when Fred arrived and found them in the kitchen. He greeted them before going straight for the fridge and getting a bottle of beer before joining the two of them at the table. They were silent when he sat down and he glanced between them. There was something in the air that he noticed immediately and he could almost reach out and pluck the threads of tension.

“What’d I miss?” He asked, settling and raising the bottle to his mouth.

Harry scoffed and turned to Hermione. “You didn’t tell him?”

Hermione made an equally annoyed noise and leaned forward towards her friend. “And when was I supposed to do that Harry? When you had me locked in your office or maybe when you wouldn’t let me out of your site since we got home?”

“Oh please like I would have stopped you sending an owl.”

“Oi!” Yelled Fred as he placed the bottle on the table and looked between the two. It would have been almost comical to see them so riled up, obviously brother and sister in everything but blood. He could see the argument bubbling under the surface in both of them. “As entertaining as this is getting, I’m a bit curious why Hermione was locked in an office?”

Harry looked pointedly at Hermione who narrowed her eyes at him. “I think I’ll let Hermione take this one seeing how she was almost killed today.”

Fred whipped around to look at Hermione who was glaring hotly at Harry. “Care to elaborate?” Fred asked.

After a searing moment where she considered pulling her wand on Harry, she turned to Fred. “You remember that patient that I had a few days ago?”

“You mean the one who choked you out in front of me? Vaguely.”

She huffed, “Yes, that one. Well he made some threats today and Harry freaked out.”

Harry interceded immediately, “Harry freaked out? Hm, well you left out that the guy disappeared after he made those threats.”

Hermione fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Fred narrowed his eyes at them, “What do you mean he disappeared? I thought there were guards on him, how could he get past them? They were right at his door.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear before answering, “Well technically he didn’t go out the door.”

He gave her a look. “He just disappeared. I was in there talking to him and the next thing we knew, he was gone.”

“Gone where?” Fred asked.

“If we knew that do you think we’d be sitting her right now?” She asked, tilting her head at him.

“Well no, but I thought St. Mungos has apparation shields?”

Hermione sighed, “They do, and they were fully functional at that time. We weren’t able to get to the ministry without leaving them. Fred we have no idea how he was able to leave, he quite literally just vanished.”

“Vanished.” Fred considered this, not coming up with anything that would explain it. “You said he made threats? I mean he was just some random person, probably just upset about being kept there.”

“Not exactly.” Harry said, getting up to take his plate to the sink.

Hermione watched him before scooting closer to Fred, this wasn’t exactly how she wanted to have this conversation. Seeing the closeness between them and knowing what Hermione was going to talk about, Harry gave her a knowing nod over Fred’s shoulder and left the room to give them some privacy.

“He wasn’t just some random person, Fred.” Hermione said when they were alone, watching his face. “I knew him. Or had seen him before.”

“Where?”

Their knees were touching and Hermione smiled softly at him before leaning back and pulling up the sleeve covering her right arm. Even when she wasn’t wearing long sleeves she had a glamour spell over the scar that marred her skin. At first when the war had ended, she thought that she was going to stand firm and proudly display the results of the torture that she had endured. Bill didn’t get to hide his face, Harry didn’t hide his scar, she had thought, so why should she? But then the first stranger asked her what had happened, and she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it.

So she didn’t. She kept it hidden and didn’t think twice about never having to publically display it again. But Fred needed to know the whole story. His eyes dropped to the arm she held out to him, it was still the creamy skin that he had run his fingers over on many different occasions. Just as he was about to look up at her in confusion the glamour faded away, and his eyes widened as he pulled her arm closer to him. Running his fingers over the letters engraved on her body, feeling the ridges where so many times before there had been smooth, unmarked skin. Fully seeing the word, he felt anger pierce through him.

“Hermione what the hell is this?” He looked up at her finally, slowly, the building rage evident in his eyes. “When did this happen?”

She slid her arm away enough so that she caught his hand in hers. “During the war, the night before Shell Cottage, we were at Malfoy Manor.” She said it matter of factly.

He nodded, he knew that part, how Dobby had died and how they had escaped to Bill and Fleur’s. He remembered her, Harry and Ron telling the story of what had happened during their time hunting horcruxes to the entire family after the war had ended.

“We didn’t tell you everything.” She said, seeing where his mind had brought him. She took a breath and began again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well gosh dang I'm on a role today. Disregard where I said I don't know where to take this and climb aboard folks!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are going to start getting a bit darker for a bit. Just be warned and I'm sorry for the shit that these characters are going to go through :( but it's already begun and I can't stop now....

Fred stared down at their clasped hands as she finished her story, it had seemed like forever since she started even though it had been less than an hour.

“Fred.” Hermione said after a few more seconds of silence. Reliving the entire ordeal, telling Fred about it had made her heart churn in her throat.

He looked up at her and saw the concern in her eyes, concern for him, he thought. Shaking his head he reached for her and drew her to him, wrapping his arms about her and burying his face in her hair. She smelled so familiar, so warm and lovely, like home. Her own arms came around his neck and she gripped him just as tightly as he held her.

They sat together, holding each other and feeding off of the comfort they received. Hermione relaxed in his arms and let her eyes close, only thinking of him and not the horrors that she had just told him about. He was a safe house for her, one that she had been coming back to for the past year even without him knowing the full extent of what he meant to her.

After a few more moments he ran his hand down her back and pulled back, the pained expression less evident in her eyes, but still there.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

She smiled slightly, “I think I should be the one asking that. I just unloaded a lot on you.”

He tucked a curl behind her ear, something that was becoming instinctive for him. “Yes but I wasn’t the one tortured and branded by a sadistic witch.” He said bluntly and saw her eyes shift.

“Lots of people were tortured.” She retorted quietly, looking over his shoulder at the photo of Harry and Teddy that hung on the opposite wall.

He nodded, yes lots of people were tortured, but so was she and right now she was the only one he cared about.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” He asked, running a hand down her arm. “I understand with you not wanting strangers to ask but, we’re your family, we love you.”

She brought her eyes back to him and gave him a small smile. “Because I didn’t need this from my family. I didn’t need sympathy or understanding or concerned looks. I just needed to be there with everyone, to feel safe. And I didn’t need to tell people to feel safe.”

He watched her, “You are safe Hermione. You always will be, I promise.”

The usual twinkle in his eyes and the good natured humor he usually gave off had disappeared to a seriousness that Hermione didn’t think she had ever seen in him before. It was unsettling but also comforting, hearing the words coming from him and knowing that he meant them with all of his heart.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” She asked as she slid off of her chair to settle herself on his lap, putting her hands around his neck.

His arms came easily around her and she noticed that they gripped her tighter than usual. “Loads of time, but I wouldn’t object to once more.”

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, wanting to forget the events of the day and lose herself in him. “Why don’t I show you instead?” She asked softly when they pulled apart.

He still felt concern for her at the edge of his mind, but he knew this was what she needed right now. They both needed to remind themselves that the war was over and that they had won, they had found each other and won in a different way. He needed to feel her and remember that just as much as she needed him to forget.

He slipped a hand under her knees and lifted her with him as he stood, enjoying the quick yelp she gave at being lifted. Turning on the spot, she was surprised to find them standing in her bedroom, even more surprised when he dumped her unceremoniously on her bed with a thump.

Before she could exclaim he was on her, laying himself carefully over her as they moved up the bed. It was dark inside the room and silent except for the sound of their breathing and Hermione’s breathy sighs. Fred kissed down her neck that still held slight traces of bruising, brushing his lips over the thin chain he had given her the month before.

She sighed and closed her eyes as the pressure of his lips found her once again. She tasted sweet when he kissed her, just like she always did, something he had found surprising the first time he had done so. It delighted him and made him want to delve deeper.

She moaned against his lips as he brought his hand up to her breast, lighting brushing the underside of it over her shirt. Her fingers were tight against his back, pulling her against him with an urgency they both felt. Pulling back he stripped off his shirt and leaned over her again, sliding his hands under the hem of her top as he did. Her skin was silky and warm under his touch and he slid his fingers across the plane of her abdomen, feeling the small bumps that broke out across her skin.

Half of him wanted to tear at her clothes, to bring her as close to him as he could so he could keep her save. But the other half wanted to take his time, to saver her as long as he could. He chided this half mentally, she wasn’t going anywhere, he thought as he pulled her upwards so he could yank the shirt up and over her head. She squirmed as he ran the stubble of the beard he was growing between her breasts and laughed slightly when he met her lips again, tugging at the bottom one with his teeth.

Blinking, he pulled back suddenly and looked down at her. In the dark he could barely see her but felt when her hand reach up to his cheek.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

Shaking his head he sat back on his heels as she pushed up to her elbows. “There is someone out there that wants to hurt you.” He said, turning to look at her.

“I’m sure there are many people who want to hurt me. I’m the brains of the golden trio remember?”

“That’s not what I mean Hermione. He actually attacked you. We thought it was just some random attack but it was deliberate. He could have killed you.” An image of her not breathing on the floor of the hospital room flashed across his mind.

Scooting up from her position she knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his warm shoulder. “But he didn’t. And he won’t get the chance again. I’m not stupid, I’m careful about the situations I put myself in. I’m not reckless and I’m going to follow Harry’s recommendations.” She placed a hand on either side of his face as he wrapped his arms about her waist. “I’m not risking this.” She said and leaned in to kiss him.

Sometime later, she woke entwined in Fred’s arms, feeling the warmth of him pressed against her back. Trying to slow her breathing she flicked her eyes about the room to ensure that they were safe in bed and not in the cold ballroom of the Malfoy’s. Her dreams had taken her back to that room a million times but it was always Bellatrix that stood over her and tormented her sleep.

This time it was the man, his hands wrapped tightly about her throat as he called her a bitch and a whore. She had been gasping for breath under his fingers and had continued as wakefulness came over her. Feeling the pounding of her heart she slid out from under Fred’s arms and got out of bed.

As she dressed and made her way out into the darkened hallway towards the stairs. There was a dim light at the bottom that she saw as she turned the corner into the living room. As her eyes let in the small amount of light, she saw Harry sitting in one of the armchairs, a book propped up in his lap.

He looked up at her as she made her way across the room and sat down on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked at him.

“Are you okay?” He asked closing the book.

Sighing she nodded. “And this is exactly why I chose not to tell people what had happened. I don’t need the constant worry.”

He continued to watch her. “I’m sorry it ever happened to you.”

She met his eyes quickly and shook her head. “No. We have been through this countless times Harry. You have got to stop blaming yourself for something that you never had control over.”

“I know.” He said, looking down at the ground in front of him. “But just because I know doesn’t mean I feel any less guilty.”

“Is that why you’re down here in the middle of the night reading-“ she glanced at the book and laughed- “ _Love in the Mountains_.”

As expected he blushed and shrugged. “It’s your book.”

She laughed and he couldn’t help but to join in. And it felt good to laugh with him, here in the middle of the night they could laugh about the cheesy romance novel he had felt compelled to grab when he couldn’t fall asleep.

“But no,” he continued. “Just couldn’t sleep. The guilt is more of a constant thing.”

Reaching out she took his hand in hers and squeezed. “You saved everybody Harry including me and countless times, Ron.” She appreciated his small smile at that.

“You should feel proud. I know I’m proud of you, proud to be your friend.”

He looked up at her and squeezed her hand back before his face became stony again. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you Hermione.”

She nodded, “I know.”

***

As much as she wanted to give Harry and Fred a piece of mind, she was ready to go back on her word to follow Harry’s suggestion. The person that had been assigned as her escort over the past few weeks was the same guard that had taken her to the ministry after the man had disappeared. He was just as cold and unfriendly now as he had been that day and no attempt at conversation with him got him to open up to her.

He stayed at the hospital while she worked and was a constant shadow during her days off. And she hated it. Never in her life had she wanted to punch someone in the face more than she did right now, besides Malfoy of course.

It was too much and she told Harry that when she marched into his office after her shift at the hospital, Bladgen taking post just outside the door. Seething she placed her hands on Harry’s desk and leaned over so she was face to face with her friend. 

“Hello.” Harry said as he leaned back in his chair.

“I’m not doing this anymore.” She said angrily.

His green eyes met her, “Doing what exactly.”

Baring her teeth she turned and gestured to the shadow that stood outside of the office door, narrowing her eyes as Bladgen turned and gave a curt nod to Harry. “This! I have not been alone other than to use the loo in three weeks. I refuse to be followed around anymore.”

It had been hell she thought. He had been the most annoying, silent person she had ever been forced to be around. Never more than four feet away from her, she had been driven crazy by his constant presence.

“He’s just doing his job Hermione.”

“Yes, I know. But he can be relieved of duty or whatever stupid way you guys call off missions. There hasn’t been a single thing that has happened to warrant his presence in the past three weeks and to be quite honest, I don’t need this.”

Harry leaned back and nodded, raising his brows. “So say we leave you alone, go about our business like usual. And say you’re walking out of the hospital one night or walking to Fred’s shop, or hell even sitting in a café somewhere.” She took a deep breath and realized where he was going with this. “And say someone, oh I don’t know a death eater who seems to have a personal vendetta against you, kills you?”

She narrowed her eyes and he lifted his hands in a shrug. “I don’t know. Sounds like you do need this Hermione.”

“I’m not stupid Harry, I know how to take care of myself.” She retorted, refusing to see the logic in his argument.

“I’m not saying you don’t. But he doesn’t even need to get close to you to hurt you Hermione. We have these wonderful things called wands and spells.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Her voice was getting icier the more that she spoke.

“I think you don’t understand how big of a deal this is. Or you’re letting simple annoyance be prioritized over your safety.”

“I can’t believe you’re giving this man this much credit. He makes one threat and suddenly you treat me like I belong in a glass case. How do you know that he wasn’t bluffing? He’s probably out there right now laughing at the absurdity we are causing.”

Harry watched her for a few seconds, she could see the shift in his demeanor at her words. Glancing down at his desk he started to nod before standing up and walking around the desk.

“Come with me.” He said shortly before leaving the office, leaving her staring at his retreating back in confusion.

She made a frustrated noise but followed him. Followed him through the bustling outer office and into the onyx hallways. From there Harry led her to an elevator which they boarded and started down. She didn’t say anything, the first explanation would have to come from him.

They stepped out a few floors down and Harry gestured to the silver door across the hall from the elevator entrance. She gave him an annoyed glance and pushed the heavy door open, immediately her nose was assaulted with the familiar smell from her medical schooling.

Looking around the brightly lit space they had just entered Hermione breathed in the familiar sterile scent of a medical office but with the underlying scent of preservant.

“Why are we in a morgue?” She asked, breaking her resolve and turning to Harry.

He barely glanced at her before leading her to one of the cold cases near the back of the room, grabbing hold of the handle and opening the small door. She could see the top of the occupants head and watched as Harry pulled the floating table into the open room. He looked down at the body and gestured her over.

It wasn’t the first dead body she had seen. Her time in medical school had acquainted her quite well with the lifeless forms that they learned from. Respectfully she carefully pulled back the sheet covering the body and looked down at the woman.

She noticed the similarities immediately, the brown curly hair cut to the shoulders, the heart shaped face and angled jaw line. Hermione thought she could be looking at a sister if she had one, or at least a cousin.

“She looks like me.” She said quietly, not letting her eyes leave the woman’s face.

“Yeah she does.” Harry said, also looking down at the body, hating that he had to do this.

Hermione sighed and peeled her eyes away to look at her friend. “But she’s not me Harry. I’m not her and I’m sorry she died, but you can’t use her to get to me.”

Harry met her eyes and she saw the pain in them behind the lens of his glasses. “I’m not. But he is.” Carefully he pulled the girl’s right arm out from under the sheet and held it out for her.

Hermione felt the blood rush from her head as she dropped her gaze to look. Feeling her heart start to pound in her chest she clutched at the cold table in front of her for balance as her head started to spin. She felt herself start to shake but couldn’t pull her eyes away from the word freshly carved into the girl’s arm, the same word that she saw on her own arm every morning.

“I don’t think he’s bluffing Hermione” Harry said, his voice sounding far away.


	22. Chapter 22

“Her name was Tessa.” Harry said, covering the dead girls face back up with the white cloth, smoothing it slightly over the body’s forehead. “She was found yesterday. Conveniently left at one of the guest entrances to the ministry.”

Hermione couldn’t take her eyes away from the form in front of her, still thinking about the horrors this poor girl must have experienced in her last hours. If the rage that she had felt from the man when he had attacked her in the hospital was any indication of the true terror he could inflict, her death would have been slow and horrible. She let her mind wander through all the different ways the man could have tortured this poor girl and her heart started to race.

“Hermione.” Harry said sharply, drawing her attention back to him, back to the living. “Are you listening?”

“How do you know he did it?” She asked quietly. It didn’t seem like it was a question that needed to be asked at this point, but she needed to be ask it. To be sure that this girl died simply because she bore a resemblance to herself.

Harry’s studied her face as his eyes filled with understanding and he nodded. “Besides the obvious similarities between you and her; the wounds and the physical features, this was found in her mouth.”

He held out a sealed piece of paper to Hermione which she took and carefully unfolded. It was a piece of the Daily Prophet, appearing to have been torn out carefully to preserve the edges of the article featured on the front. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see her own face smiling back at her, a picture that she recognized immediately.

It was an article that had been published the week after Hermione had moved back and taken the physician position at St. Mungos. Word that the golden trio was once again united in Great Britain had spread through the wizarding community like wildfire and the prophet had coerced her into doing an interview about her new position.

Alarmingly through, across the photo of her was written in bright red ink, “Scream Bitch”. Hermione smoothed her thumb over the words, just as she had traced the letters of her scar over and over again.

“How long ago was she found?” Hermione asked finally, handing the paper back to Harry as she felt her stomach tighten in knots.

“Yesterday morning. We’ve spoken with her family already but have decided not to announce it to the greater community yet.”

This surprised her. “And why not?” She asked, stepping away from the table finally as Harry pushed the gurney back into its metal resting place. “Shouldn’t they be warned that there is a crazy murderer out there and anyone who looks like me should stay inside.”

“It doesn’t work that way Hermione.” Harry said as they both turned and started to walk back to his office. “The ministry does things differently than muggle law enforcement. Kingsley has decided against telling the public about every crime that is committed. He thinks that it will just incite more panic like it did during the war.”

She glanced over at him as they walked down the hallway from the elevator. “Harry this isn’t just a petty theft or a miscast jinx. This is someone killing another human being, for absolutely no reason other than the fact that she looked like me.”

“I know. But again, this is just how its done.”

The even tone of his voice caught her off-guard and she reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping them both just outside the door to the main office of the aurors. “And what if someone else dies? What if he kills another girl because they didn’t know to be on the lookout?”

Harry’s brow was creased, and she saw the obvious tension in the green eyes behind his glass’s lenses. She knew this couldn’t be any easier for him than it was for her. He was the recognized savior of the wizarding world, someone who is supposed to uphold the good in the world but also someone who in general is viewed as a protector. If they knew that he had withheld information that may have saved someone’s life…

He didn’t care about his reputation as the boy-who-lived, besides a brief moment in their sixth year, he had never let fame get to his head. It was personal guilt he felt now, knowing that Hermione was exactly right about releasing the information about the murder as well as a warning.

“It’s not my call Hermione.” He said finally and entered the office.

***

Several hours later, Hermione had made her way to the twin’s flat, once again accompanied by Bladgen. Her earlier complaints of the man following her everywhere were now forgotten and she felt immensely grateful for his presence.

“You’ll let me know when you plan to leave in the morning, yes?” The older man asked as they reached the entrance to the stairs leading up to the flat, raising a brow at her. He was well aware of her earlier annoyance with him.

She nodded, still feeling troubled from her visit with Harry, and what he had shown her. The girl’s face, so like her own, was etched into her brain the same way ‘Mudblood’ was etched into both of their arms. Bladgen nodded and awkwardly patted her shoulder before turning on the spot and leaving her alone in the empty entrance.

Sighing she made her way up the stairs and opened the door to the flat, feeling a well of emotion at the sight before her. The music coming from the small radio on the kitchen counter was bright and jazzy and the tall redhead at the stove was swaying to it as he added something to a pan. He was singing along with the crooning voice that swept about the room as he danced and stirred.

The smells drifted to her across the living room as she quickly crossed it and immediately wrapped her arms around Fred’s waist, resting her cheek against his back as she breathed in his comforting scent.

He started at the sudden contact but relaxed immediately, glancing over his shoulder to see the curly brown head of hair behind him. Smiling slightly to himself, he added the final touch to the stew he was making and placed the lid on the pot before turning in her arms.

The smile immediately vanished as he saw the fresh tears starting to form in her eyes as she looked up at him. The dark brown of them shimmered in the lights of the kitchen and he could see how hard she was trying to hold everything in. It wasn’t hard to read her emotions, she was aptly, a bit of an open book.

“Hermione what’s wrong?” He asked, his brows furrowed as he smoothed his hands over her cheeks and hair, watching as the first tear slipped from her eye and glided over her skin.

She shook her head and closing her eyes, burrowed her face into his chest and wept.

Growing even more concerned, Fred could do nothing but hold her, stroking her back as he felt the warm wetness of her tears soak through the shirt he was wearing. Her sobs tore at him and he pressed his lips to her hair, murmuring comforting sounds that he remembered his mother doing when they were children. Her hands clenched the shirt at his sides, and he could tell that she was holding on for dear life.

After a few minutes her sobs slowly quieted until the only sound was of soft sniffs and the simmering liquid behind them on the stove. When she finally pulled back, her eyes, cheeks and nose were all red. He ran a thumb over the wet trail on one of her cheeks.

Pulling back she leaned her head back, sniffing and looking to the ceiling as she swiped at her cheeks, trying to erase any remnants of left-over tears.

“God, I’m sorry. I’m a mess.” She said, her voice wavering.

“Hey,” Fred said, placing his hands on either side of her neck and tilting her head down so her eyes met his. “You could have just gotten done swimming in dragon dung and you still wouldn’t look a mess to me.”

She gave him a watery smile and laugh as she shook her head. He bent to kiss her and tasted the salty remnants of tears on her lips.

“So,” he said, pulling back and smoothing the frantic curls away from her face. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

She told him everything. The way she felt when she had first seen the girl. Every detail she had been told about her life, and death. The lecture that Harry had given her about needing to take care. Fred listened, and felt his heart pound with each new bit of information.

“You are not leaving the house until this man has been caught.” He said firmly when she had finished talking.

“Fred..” Hermione said, watching as he stood up from their seats at the kitchen table and began to pace in short, quick steps.

“I’m serious Hermione.” He said, turning with a hand raised to her. “He killed someone, and not just anyone but a girl who looks exactly like you. But apparently not enough, so he decided to add an extra ornament to her arm to complete the look.” He gestured to where the scar on her own arm was as he spoke.

“He killed someone just because she looked like you.” He repeated, this time more forcefully as he stopped his pacing and faced her.

“Fred I cannot just stop my life just because there is a madman who wants to kill me.” She said, feeling the resolve come back into her at the new imposed restrictions.

“Why not? He wants to.”

She rolled her eyes and conceded to his point. “I’m being careful. Bladgen will be with me most days and when he’s not, someone else will be. I’ve taken the extra precautions the ministry has laid out for me and I promised to follow them. But I know he’s out there and what he wants, that girl didn’t. She had no idea what to expect or that there was even someone after her. She never had that chance, I do.”

Fred swallowed hard before taking his seat again, turning in the chair so he could take her hands in his. “You know that he did this to goad you and Harry.”

“What? Kill an innocent girl? Well it’s worked perfectly.”

Fred shook his head and ran his thumbs over her knuckles. “Ever since the war there has been an expectation of a savior-complex surrounding the three of you. Credit for Voldemort’s defeat falls on both you and Ron as well as Harry, and everyone knows it. He knows what he’s doing Hermione. He’s killing innocent people and shoving them in your face so you know that you weren’t there to save them.”

His words chilled her slightly as they rang true. “Then why wouldn’t he go after Ron? Or Harry even? They were both involved as much as I was, Harry a million times more. Why me?”

He ran an arm automatically up to trace the lines of her scars over the shirt she wore. “Because you appealed to him. Appealed to his sick mind that got off on the hell you endured.”

She pulled her hands back and rubbed her eyes, feeling how tired she was but also trying to block out the returned of all of the memories that she tried on a daily basis to suppress. Each day had felt like it was getting better for her, like she didn’t have to fight as hard to feel normal again. Ever since she had moved back it actually felt like she might have a semblance of a life, with a great job, family and… Fred.

But now, everything was rushing back to her. Every moment of fear and panic she had felt during the war was rising up in her again and she refused to let them in, refused to hand her life over to forces that would only see her dead.

Looking up suddenly she reached out and grabbed Fred’s hand, standing as she pulled him up with her and started to pull him down the hall.

“Hermione—” He said, confused.

“No.” She said as she stopped right in front of his bedroom door, shaking her head at him and interrupting his words. “No.” She said again before wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her toes to kiss him. The need to feel in control of something, anything, was overwhelming and she dug her fingers into his hair.

“Hermione.” He groaned again as she backed them the few more steps into his bedroom and swung the door shut. He tried to pull back, but her grip held him where he was. Placing his hands on her waist he forcibly pushed her back slightly, separating them so he could look at her and saw the desperation in her gaze.

Frustrated she stepped away, twisting away from his grip, “Fred I spent the day thinking about a girl who is currently lying dead on a cold, metal table in the basement of a ministry. A girl who is dead because of me. Who will never get to fulfill her dreams and live the rest of what should have been a long life.” Her eyes flashed a warning at him when he opened his mouth to speak. “All I need right now is to feel alive. So, you can either help with that, or leave me alone.”

He searched her face briefly, seeing the anguish and sadness in her eyes that was buried just below the simmering anger she felt. He knew that the anger wasn’t directed at him, but instead at the man who had once again claimed her happiness.

She raised her eyebrows at him in question.

Nodding his head, he took a step towards her. “Okay.”

She let out a small breath of relief before quickly stepping forward and kissing him with the same vigor that she had done before, and this time he returned it, letting his hands roam freely about her clothed body.

They were rough with each other, knowing that it was less about them being together and more about them just being. Fred let his mouth drop to her neck as he felt her hands reach under the hem of his shirt and run over his abdomen, skimming upwards across his chest as she pulled the shirt over his head.

Her own shirt quickly followed, and he turned with her, pushing her back onto the bed when her knees touched it. Before she even had the chance to sit up, he was at her again, pulling down a cup of her bra to wrap his lips around her nipple, tugging at it sharply and enjoying her intake of air it elicited. Her fingers wove into his hair as his mouth continued to explore her; to her other breast, up her neck and back down over her abdomen.

He pulled the scrub bottoms she had been wearing past her hips and down her slim legs, which he parted and lay between.

“Fred.” She groaned as he brought his lips back to her and ground his hips against hers. She could feel the hardness of him through his jeans and needed nothing more than for him to be inside of her, to fill her with something other than hatred and fear.

It was like he could read her mind as, after another thrust against her, he pulled back slightly and removed his own pants as well as her nickers. Collapsing on top of her again, he entered her in a single swift motion that made her cry out.

They were normally generous with their lovemaking, each giving as much as they took. Taking their time to truly enjoy and worship the other’s bodies before giving in to their own needs. But this, this was different, it was selfish, both taking from the other to get what they needed in the moment.

Fred began to move his hips sharply against hers as he pulled out and immediately thrust back, burying himself to the hilt inside of her. Her own hips rose eagerly to meet his as he began to move faster, stroking the aching fire inside of her, taking as much from her as she was taking for herself.

Hermione’s arms gripped his shoulders tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head back to allow his hungry mouth access to her neck. The need inside her grew until she was all but clawing at his back, ushering him to move harder, faster. Hooking an arm under one of her knees Fred ground his hips against hers, making her eyes fly open as the sudden grip of pleasure crashed over her.

She pulsed around him, the small gasps from her lips driving him wild as he continued to pound into her. Her body was tense under his and her small hands gripped his shoulders like a lifeline as she rode wave after wave of intense pleasure. After a few more thrusts into the tight, wet heat, he groaned and emptied himself into her, bracing himself on his elbows to keep from crushing her as his body shook with his release.

They were both breathing hard when they finally came back to their senses, Fred still buried deep inside her as he rested his head against her collarbone, not wanting to lose the connection he felt with her. The light touches her fingers were causing as they danced over his back made him shiver as he wrapped his arms around her back, holding her to him.

Sighing, Hermione moved beneath him and felt him slip from her. She stroked his hair and looked up at the ceiling, enjoying the silence they were cocooned in. Enjoying the small moment of peace that had found it’s way into a horrible day.

“I’m sorry.” She said softly after a few minutes, stilling looking upwards, her fingers moving across his cheek now.

Fred raised his head from her neck and looked up at her. “For what?”

She sighed and continued the small strokes against his cheek. “For using you.”

Fred snorted and pressed his lips against the hollow at the base of her throat, letting them dance slightly across the soft skin. “You’re right, because I didn’t get any enjoyment out of that at all. In fact, it was quite terrible, traumatizing actually.”

A slight smile touched her lips as she scooted up from under him, resting on her elbows as she looked down at him. “I’m serious. You didn’t deserve that.”

Fred rose so he was sitting back on his knees between her legs. “Deserve what? To fuck until we both feel better?”

“Fred..” Hermione said, staring at him. He normally didn’t use such crude language and to hear it from him surprised her.

“No, Hermione.” He interrupted her with a sharp look. “You don’t get to demand sex and then apologize for it. It was what you needed, and we are supposed to be there for each other. You needed something that I was more than willing to provide. And don’t worry, I took as much as I gave.”

Her eyes softened a bit at this, “I know.” The stickiness she felt between her legs was enough to attest to that.

“And now,” he said, quickly reaching out to wrap his arm about her waist, pulling her with him as he rolled to his back. “It’s your turn.”

“Yes.” She let out a breath and her lips curved slightly before lowering herself down to the hardness that was once again present beneath her. “Yes.” She repeated before starting to slowly rock her hips against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everybody! I know this doesn't feel very festive with the murder but I figured the rough sex would make up for it :) I really love hearing your thoughts about the story and appreciate any feedback, so thank you for the commentators out there! Hope you are all enjoying thus far!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I'm trying to plan out the story a bit more and wanted to give you all a nice happy chapter before shit hits the fan :)

The “family meeting” at the burrow regarding the threats against Hermione was exhausting. Mrs. Weasley had started to cry and hug Hermione, saying over and over that they had all suffered enough. The anger and fear that she felt come from everyone else at the table made her feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. All she could do was sit there and repeat how careful she would be and refuse to go into hiding when it was suggested for the millionth time.

She was taking this seriously, she was, Hermione repeated to herself for probably the 10th time today. She knew how worried people were for her; Fred, Harry and the rest of the Weasleys. She wasn’t about to disregard the concern that her friends and family had for her safety. She was worried too, but more about the effect this was having on her loved ones.

There hadn’t been another attack since Tessa, almost three weeks Hermione and the rest of the family had been on their guard. She didn’t dismiss the threat against her, and she didn’t dismiss the other woman in the world who were at risk for no fault of their own. Working with Harry and his department, she was watched every moment she would otherwise be alone. At work she always had someone on the floor that she was working on, and she was banned from the emergency department as there was no way to screen who came in.

Then at home, she finally felt like she had some sort of normalcy except for Fred and Harry hovering around her like flies.

“Hermione are you sure you’re alright dear?” Mrs. Weasleys voice cut through her through and she opened her eyes to find the red-headed woman watching her from across the room. Along with the rest of the family who had turned to look at her. They waited these weeks to tell the rest of the family in order for Harry to get permission from the ministry.

Turning away from the window she had been in front of, she attempted a weak smile. “Yeah, of course. Again, I’m really sorry we couldn’t bring this to everyone sooner.”

She walked over and sat back down in the chair next to Fred and Harry. Fred immediately reached his arm up behind her and started to play with a lock of her hair. Ron watched the interaction from his safe distance from across the table, the cold look on his face betrayed his continued anger at the couple. Lavender was in her final weeks of pregnancy and for the past few months had been making every excuse in the book to not be around the family.

“Hermione, all that matters is that you’re safe, and that we are all going to watch out for you.” Mrs. Weasley smiled at her but the grip on her husband’s hand betrayed her worry.

Shifting in her seat, Hermione tucked her hair behind an ear and leaned forward, clearing her throat. “Actually, you won’t have to worry about that.”

Ron momentarily forgot his anger as his and everyone else’s expression turned confused.

“I’ve been thinking, and I believe it would be best for me to go back to Paris.” She breathed out the sentence as fast as she could, raising her eyes to meet Ron’s but refusing to look at Fred.

She had made her decision a few weeks ago, laying in bed with Fred after he had fallen asleep. All the women who were in danger because of her kept her up at night, with none of them knowing their lives were at risk. But then she remembered that those who were closest around her were in danger too. If killing a complete stranger affected her this much, it was only a matter of time before the death eater realized that hurting someone she loves would devastate her. And laying next to Fred, feeling the warmth of his body pressed against hers, she knew that she wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Hermione you can’t just leave.” Harry said, understanding where she was coming from. “Do you really think he wouldn’t follow you?”

She met his eyes, “Well this didn’t start until I moved back so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to test the theory.”

“People like this guy don’t just give up because you moved cities. He’s magic, he could be in Paris in less than a minute if he knew you were there. And then you wouldn’t have anyone on your side to keep you safe. You’re not moving. You wouldn’t have us to watch out for you and yes, we know that you can take care of yourself, but none of us would ever forgive ourselves if something happened to you and we weren’t even in the same country.” This time it was Ron who spoke, the most he had said to her in months.

Hermione turned away from Harry to look at Ron in surprise. She raised her brows at him, having not expected to say anything for this entire conversation let alone be concerned about her welfare. “That’s clever Ronald.” She said, taking the moment.

The corner of his mouth twitched and then dropped. “You can’t move. Paris isn’t going to protect you, family is.”

***

“So you’re moving to Paris, huh?”

Hermione looked up from her book and grimaced when she saw the lack of humor on Fred’s face. After the meeting the family had dispersed, Mrs. Weasley ushering Hermione outside to enjoy some time to herself while she was within the boundaries of the Burrow’s protection. Avoiding Fred, she had grabbed a book and made her way out to the pond.

He didn’t move to sit down next to her, instead leaning against the tree a few feet away from her spot on the ground.

“I thought it would be best.” Hermione said, keeping her tone as even and as emotionless as his was.

He raised his eyebrows. “Best for who? For you? Ron disproved that theory in a single sentence, which just goes to show how stupid it was in the first place.” She flashed him a cold look, but he continued. “And it certainly wasn’t the best for Harry, or the rest of the family. You left a pretty big whole in everyone’s lives when you went to France the first time.”

Clenching his jaw, he stared at her. “And what about me, Hermione? Were you even going to tell me, or just announce it to everyone first so I wouldn’t have a chance to tell you my opinion? Which would be adamantly no, in case you were wondering.”

She set her book down and made a move to get up, but he held up a hand to stop her. “No, answer me. You were really going to leave without even talking to me about it. Do I mean that little to you?”

At this her expression faltered. “What? No, that not it at all. Don’t you see? It’s because you mean so much that I wanted to leave.”

He stayed silent and Hermione sighed, wishing she could touch him but was afraid of the frostbite she would suffer if she did. “Fred, how long do you think it’s going to be before this man realizes that the next logical person on his list to get to me is you.. or Harry or your parents or siblings.” Her hands had started to move in exasperation and her eyes begged him to understand. “You are all the closest thing I have to a family now. And I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

He rolled his eyes and pushed away from the tree, taking the few steps closer and crouched in front of her. “Always the hero.”

This irked her, she hated that title, had fled to Paris to escape it. After the war the three of them had been branded heroes of the nation; Harry, who had been dealing with public scrutiny since was eleven, took it in stride, Ron reveled in it, not afraid to be in public with his adoring fans. But Hermione, she hated it. Never in her life had she been looking for public attention, she had been the annoying know-it-all who people usually avoided. And then there was Harry Potter waltzing into her life, and with Harry came fame and rumors. And no, no matter what happened, she would be linked to her best friend forever.

“I’m not a hero, Fred. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt, especially not you.” Her voice was softer, and she rubbed a hand to her temple to ward off the headaches that were becoming more and more frequent due to her increasing lack of sleep.

He watched her for a few moments and then reached out to take her hand. Watching her over the past few weeks was like watching a memory of the Hermione he had fallen in love with. She was increasingly distracted and rarely smiled, no matter what kind of support he offered. While everyone was worried about her, she was in constant worry about her loved ones, and the women she didn’t know. Not only worry, but guilt as well.

His hand squeezed hers she looked up at him, her brown eyes were flat and that hurt him more than her wanting to leave him behind.

“I don’t think I’m okay with all of this.” She said softly, gripping his hand, letting down her guard for a moment to let him in, letting him glimpse her vulnerability. Being strong during this was the most draining thing she had ever done. All she wanted to do was bury herself in a cave to escape the constant fear that she felt now.

Fred nodded and leaned forward on his knees to pull her to his chest. She sighed and relaxed into his arms, feeling the immediate sense of safety she felt every time she was with him in the past few months. Her arms went around his waist and she held him as tightly as she could, listening to the thump of his heart against her cheek.

“You know, when I slept with you in Paris, I didn’t really count on dealing with a crazy, murdering Death Eater.” He said into her hair, smiling at her resulting vibration of laughter.

“You should have realized that anything to do with Harry, Ron or I would result in your life being in danger.” Hermione said, pulling back to look up at him.

He gave her a slight smile and cupped her cheek with his hand. “Danger is my middle name, love.”

Unfortunately, she knew this was true. If it wasn’t the connection to the trio’s lives that put him in danger, then it would be himself, and George of course. The things they worked on in their shop only increased her worry for his safety. She was getting quite tired of the twins showing up in the hospital needing to be healed from some experiment going wrong. George had even tried to convince her to teach him more advanced healing spells so they could stop bothering her. She had shut down this suggestion adamantly, saying that if she couldn’t trust them not to blow their hands off, then she certainly wasn’t about to trust them to successfully reattach them.

“It’s part of the job, you know.” Fred said, interrupting her thoughts. He had developed the canny ability to know what she was thinking before she even voiced her thoughts. It partially bothered her, but then on the other hand made her relieved. Sometimes it was just easier for him to know what she was thinking.

“It’s a stupid part.” She countered, sighing as the grin formed across his face again. He leaned forward and tilted her face up so that his lips met hers. They were warm and soft against hers and she leaned further into him, enjoying the soft movement of his hand through her hair.

Suddenly she reached up to him, pulled him sharply to her and leaned backwards, causing him to topple from his crouched position to fall on top of her. She laughed as he grunted, trying to catch himself with his hands. He pulled back to look down at her, a bemused expression across his face.

“I’ve created a monster.” He said with a chuckle.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh please, don’t take all of the credit.”

Fred laughed and leaned down to kiss her again, enjoying the feel of her warm body underneath him. With her worry, she had been distant over the past few weeks. Staying at the hospital for increasingly long hours and staying at Grimmauld Place instead of seeking him out during her off time. He should have seen Paris coming with the amount that she had been avoiding him.

“You need to promise me that you’re not going to up and leave without telling me.” He said suddenly, pulling back to look down into her molten brown eyes. His own deep blue ones were serious, and they held her gaze intently.

Hermione blinked and raised one of her hands to his cheek, stroking the length of his cheekbone with her thumb. “I promise.” She said softly.

He continued to hold her gaze for a moment before nodding. “I mean it. You don’t get to disappear, Granger. At least not without me.”

Her lips turned upwards in a soft smile. “We could just run away to Brazil. Escape from everything. Be untraceable.”

Fred didn’t smile. Instead he pretended to consider this and then shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t work. You don’t like snakes.”

Hermione snorted out a laugh. “True. Though honestly the thought of being murdered bothers me a bit more. I think I could learn to handle snakes. The humidity though.” She said, raising a hand to her curly locks. “That might be a deal breaker.”

Fred chuckled and leaned down to kiss her once more before pushing up to his knees again. Reaching down he helped her sit up and they both stood, arms wrapped around each other as the slight breeze brushed against them. “We’ll be okay.” Fred said against her hair, feeling her arms squeeze his waist in response.

***

Hermione was sitting in the living room of Grimmauld Place, a book in her lap when the green flames of the fireplace lit up the dark room. It was late, too late for anyone to be visiting, Hermione thought as she gripped the smooth wood of her wand. She watched for a few seconds as the flames intensified and then snuffed out, leaving a disheveled looking Ron in their wake.

Surprised, Hermione swung her legs down from the couch, putting her book tentatively down on the cushion beside her. They hadn’t spoke since the meeting at the Burrow, and she wasn’t quite sure what he was doing here.

“Ron? Are you alright?” She asked.

The redhead started at her voice, not having seen her upon his entrance. His hair was sticking up at all angles and she saw that his shirt was inside out, like he had hastily pulled it on while half awake. Normally she would have found his appearance funny, but the frantic look in his eyes worried her.

“It’s Lavender.” He said simply, holding up his trembling hands as though in explanation.

Hermione furrowed her brows and stood to go to her friend. She took his hands in hers to stop the frantic movements they had started. “What about Lavender? Is she alright?”

“Ron!” She said sternly, watching him struggle to find words. He needed to focus. “What is wrong with Lavender.”

“She said the baby’s coming.” Ron said frantically, almost on the edge of hysteria.

Relaxing, Hermione couldn’t help but grin. This was nothing more than the fears and terror of a new father in the eminent birth of their first child. She had seen in countless times during her training in Paris.

“Then may I ask why you’re not on your way to the hospital? Coming here seems like an odd detour.” She couldn’t keep the humor from her voice and it seemed to catch his attention, focusing his gaze on her. The annoyance flickered in his eyes and Hermione bit her lip to keep from smiling.

“She doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Says that the baby will come out anxious if it’s born in a hospital.”

“Anxious?” Hermione asked, raising her brows. Lavender fancied herself a bit of a seer since her time spent in divination, always making odd predictions about her and Ron’s future.

Ron gave her a pleading look, begging her silently not to make any comments. Sighing Hermione schooled her expression. “Okay. So again, what are you doing here while your wife is at home in labor?”

“The midwife that Lavender has been working with is no where to be found, that’s why. I told her the bloody woman was just out to get our money with her phony herbs and spells she would give Lavender to ‘sooth the babies karma’.” Ron said with a hint of disgust.

“Ron, babies don’t have karma. They haven’t done anything to deserve Karma.” Hermione said, keeping her features neutral.

Her friend ran a hand through his hair and shot her a look of annoyance. “Try telling that to her. Anyways, we need your help Hermione. I have no idea what to do and she almost killed me when I tried to get her to go to the hospital. Please.”

She couldn’t keep the shock from registering across her face. She was the last person she would have expected either Ron or Lavender to ask for help. It really was no trouble to deliver a baby, she had done it hundreds of times over the past three years. But this was Lavender, the woman who only two months ago had stood in front of her and had basically called her a slut. She wasn’t quite sure her ‘essence’ would be one that Lavender wanted exposed to her baby.

Seeing her hesitation, Ron gripped her hand tighter. “Please, Hermione. I can’t do this by myself.”

Hermione paused for a moment more before blowing out a breath. “Alright. You’re sure she wont bite my head off the moment I arrive?”

Ron seemed to seriously consider the possibility for a moment and Hermione raised her brows. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t _think_ so?? Ron..” The prospect of helping them was looking worse and worse.

“No,” he interrupted her. “She barely noticed me leaving with her pains. Honestly she probably wont even notice you’re there.”

She gave him an exasperated look. Banking on his wife’s labor pains to not kill Hermione was something she didn’t find all that comforting. But the pleading and fear in Ron’s eyes made the decision for her. “Alright. Just let me grab my bag.”

He nodded and Hermione left the room, running up the stairs to her bedroom where she stored the small bag filled with medical supplies that she used in emergencies. And this seemed to be an emergency. Ron was waiting for her when she came back downstairs, wringing his hands together.

She smiled at him. “Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine.”

He nodded but didn’t seem reassured. Hermione sighed and followed him through into the fireplace, knowing that this was going to be a long night. Between the frantic father-to-be and the crazy witch they were about to come face to face with, Hermione wished wholeheartedly she was back in Paris.

The screams and swearing that assaulted their ears as they stepped out of the fireplace immediately brought on a headache. Ron ran across the small living room of his and Lavender’s house at the noise and went through one of the doors the exited off of the room.

Feeling hesitant to follow, Hermione glanced about the room as she crossed it. She had never been to Ron’s house before, never been invited, she thought with a hint of malice. Fitting that the first time she would be over would be to work. It was a cozy space, reeking of dried flowers that seemed to adorn every surface in the room. The furniture was gaudy and draped with every sort of beaded shawl there was. A table by the front window held a clear glass ball and Hermione snorted.

She entered the bedroom just as the contraction Lavender was experiencing ended. The blond witch was laying flat on the bed, caressing her large abdomen. She had odd charms hanging from the ceiling around the bed and more of the dried flowers and herbs tied to every single bed post. Yes, Hermione thought, this was going to be a long night.

Ron was kneeling next to the bed, talking softly to Lavender while he gripped her hand. He was right, she hadn’t even noticed that he had been gone. Over his shoulder, Lavender’s eyes met Hermione’s and the storm started.

“What the hell is she doing here?” The blond spat out, trying to raise herself up on her elbows.

“Lav, please.” Ron pleaded, putting his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “You needed help.”

“No, I don’t. Aurora said she would be here. We just have to wait.” Lavender said defiantly, twisting her face into a scowl in Hermione’s direction.

“I sent the owl over four hours ago. She isn’t coming. I told you she was nothing but a phony.” Ron said, his voice harder at this.

“Well I surely don’t want _her_ here instead.” Lavender said, still glaring at Hermione. If looks could kill, Hermione thought.

Sighing she took another step into the room. “Look, if you can convince me that you know what to do then I will gladly leave.” Ron sent her a sharp look but Hermione kept her eyes on Lavender, brows raised.

“Do you know how to position the baby to ease delivery? The diagnostic spells to use when it arrives? How to cut the cord? If so, I’ll gladly head home and enjoy a peaceful night of sleep.” Hermione prompted, the furrowed brows of the blond witch already telling her the answers to her questions.

Defiantly, Lavender shook her head. “Then I would say that you might need some help.” Hermione said, placing her bag on top of the dresser.

“Fine.” Lavender spat out, her face contorting slightly as another pain started to brew within her abdomen. Two minutes, Hermione observed with a trained eye. “But you stay away from me.” The expectant mother said through clenched teeth.

Hermione couldn’t help it, she laughed. “I think that would make my job quite impossible. Trust me, you’ll hardly know that I’m here.”

The witch was already yelling again in pain, forgetting immediately about her unwelcome visitor. Hermione cast a shield charm over her hands before perching herself on the edge of the bed and palpating Lavenders abdomen, tight with the contracting muscles. As the contraction ceased, she quickly she slipped a hand under the hem of the nightgown and performed a brief exam.

“Looks like we’re right on time.” She said as her fingers met the hard crown of the baby’s head. For this being her first child, Lavender was certainly progressing through the process quickly.

Lavender glared at her but didn’t say anything. Ron looked much more relaxed now that Hermione was there, rushing to perform every one of her instructions, glad to have something to do other than sit and worry.

After another hour of quickening contractions, Lavender suddenly doubled up in pain yelling that something felt wrong. Brows furrowed, Hermione flipped the nightgown up over her knees and bent her head to look.

“No, you just need to push.” She told the witch firmly, placing her hands on the trembling knees. “Lavender you need to push, right now.” She kept her voice even but made sure that Lavender heard her.

The blond witch met Hermione’s eyes and she nodded. Squishing up her face as she bore down, pressing back against Ron who was sitting behind her. The shrieks that filled the room were almost non-existent to Hermione as she focused her attention on the other end of the witch. She could see the bald head of the baby start to push against the tight skin.

Lavender was crying now, panting heavily as she collapsed against her husband. “Good.” Hermione said, looking up to the witch again. “Take a few breaths and then we’re doing that again.”

“I don’t want to.” Lavender wailed, closing her eyes as big, fat tears tracked down her face. Hermione felt immediate sympathy built in her for the witch. She have never imagined Lavender handling pain well and had been thankful knowing that she wouldn’t be the one attending to her during the birth, but that had obviously changed.

She placed her hand on the quivering abdomen and met Ron’s eyes with a nod. Turning her eyes back to Lavender, she spoke directly to the witch. “It doesn’t matter if you want to or not. Your baby is going to come no matter what, and you need to help them, Lavender.” The witch opened her teary eyes at her name and looked at Hermione.

“I can’t.” Her voice was small and a small sob followed her words.

Hermione smiled at her reassuringly. “Yes, you can. I promise you. You are stronger than you think you are, and your body was made to do this. Just trust yourself.”

Hermione could feel the muscles under her hand start to tense again and she knew that it was time. “Right now, Lavender. You can do this.”

The blond brows drew together as she shot forward in the bed, yelling as she bore down with all of her strength. Hermione immediately took up her post and helped to easy the baby’s head out.

“Wait!” She said suddenly. “Stop pushing.”

“But you said..” Lavender wailed, mid push.

“Just stop!” Hermione said frantically. The baby’s face was pale and the pulsing purple cord was just visible around the small neck. “It’s alright.” She said, more to herself than to the parents. “The cord is just caught around it’s neck.”

Lavender wailed at her words, but Hermione shot her a sharp look that quieted her. Ron looked panicked and watched as Hermione bent back to her work.

Her fingers ran along the length of the chord, judging the tightness and noting with relief that it was relatively loose. She slipped a finger between the cord and the skin of the baby and gently pulled, slipping it with some difficulty over the baby’s head. As soon as the restraining factor was removed, Lavender cried out again and pushed. Hermione maneuvered the baby’s shoulders into the world and the rest of it’s body slipped out after.

Lavender collapsed back against Ron, panting as beads of sweat dripped down her temples. Hermione cleared the baby’s airway and turned it against her arm to rub at its back, smiling when her efforts were rewarding with a sharp cry. She cut the cord easily and cast a quick cleansing charm over the squirming infant before wrapping her in the soft, yellow blanket that had been previously laid out in preparation.

Holding the baby carefully in her arms, she turned to its parents, grinning widely. “Congratulations, you’ve got a beautiful daughter.” She placed the baby gently across Lavender’s chest and watched with happiness as the witch’s wide eyes turned down to look at her daughter. The small face was still crunched up with obvious anger at being forced into the world, and Lavender stroked a finger across the wrinkled forehead.

“A girl?” Ron asked, peering down over his wife’s shoulder to look at the new arrival. “Bloody hell.”

Lavender slapped a hand back to hit him on the shoulder. “Shush. No swearing.”

Hermione chuckled and went back to the end of the bed to finish the work that she had started. Lavender didn’t even seem to notice Hermione anymore as both she and Ron stared lovingly down at their daughter.

When Hermione was finished and the linens and Lavender clean and settled again, she turned back to her patient’s. Lavender was attempting to get the baby to latch onto a breast, coaxing her with soft cooing noises. The baby fussed against her but finally got the idea and latched on.

“So, what’s her name?” Hermione said, watching with satisfaction as the baby vigorously fed.

Ron glanced up at her, almost having forgotten she was still there. “Umm..” He said, biting his lip as he looked down at the baby again.

“Adrezella.” Lavender said with affection, her eyes still locked on the baby.

Hermione raised her brows at Ron, and he grimaced slightly, giving a small shrug. Hermione smiled back at him, knowing the name was definitely Lavender’s idea. It it was up to Ron, he would have named his daughter the simplest, three letter name in the book.

“That’s lovely.” She said, mostly to Lavender. “Well everything looks good and judging from the amount of parenting books you have in your living room, I’m assuming you feel alright taking it from here?”

Ron snapped his head back up to look at her, his expression suddenly one of anxiety. “What? You’re leaving? You can’t leave, what if we need you?”

Hermione tilted her head at him. “The hard part’s over Ron. You’re parents now, you know what to do.” She picked up her now packed bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Besides,” she said with a smile. “You know right were to find me.”

Lavender ignored her and Hermione gave a final pat on the shoulder to Ron before making her way back through the fireplace to Grimmauld Place. The faint glow of the rising sun made her groan as she stepped out of the flames. It had been hours, she thought, though it felt like only minutes since Ron had first appeared in the room.

Suddenly feeling very fatigued, Hermione made her way back up the stairs to her bedroom. The lump under her blankets indicated that Fred was still fast asleep where she had left him last night. He was a heavy sleeper, she observed jealously as she stood at the edge of the bed. His arm was thrown across his forehead and one of his feet stuck out from under the cream-colored comforter.

Shaking her head, Hermione shed her clothes and padded over to the bathroom. The hot water of the shower felt like heaven against her sticky skin and she sighed as the grimy feeling was washed away. She washed before turning off the water, wrapping her wet hair in a towel and drying off before making her way back out to the bed.

Without even bothering to dress, she dropped the towel from her head and slithering into the bed next to Fred’s warmth, cuddling up close to him. He must have felt her arrival in his sleep as he turned towards her and wrapped an arm securely around her waist. She sighed in contentment and burrowed her face into his chest. For a moment they were both still before she felt Fred’s hand slip questioningly down her bare backside.

Feeling nothing but smooth skin under his hand, he smiled slightly and squeezed.

Hermione huffed out a breath and swatted at his chest. “No.” She said sternly, the twitching of a certain body part eluding to his wakeful state.

“That’s not fair.” Fred said, pulling her tight against him. “You can’t crawl into bed wet and naked and not expect me to react.”

“Fred, I can’t seem to crawl into bed in general without a reaction from you.” She said, bumping her pelvis forward to illustrate her point.

He grinned and buried his nose against her wet hair. His hand was still moving softly over her bottom and he slid his knee up to rest between her legs.

“You’re impossible.” She said softly as he rolled towards her. He grinned as he moved over her, looking down at her deep brown eyes.

“True.” He said, leaning down to kiss her. “But you love me.”

She sighed and smiled against his lips. “Yes. Yes, I do.”


	24. Chapter 24

In the end, Hermione was immensely grateful for the arrival of Adrezella Louisa Weasley. The name was a mouthful, Hermione thought with a smile as she observed the little girl being coddled by her obsessed Grandmama. Everyone had taken to calling the girl Della, much to the chagrin of her mother who insisted the baby be addressed only by her full name.

She could feel the pride wafting off of Ron as he watched his mother with his daughter, announcing proudly everything that the new baby had done in her few weeks of life. Hermione grinned at her friend, knowing that he viewed this as the greatest thing he had ever accomplished, which was saying a lot given he had played an honorary game with the Chudley Cannons after the war.

Fred plopped down on the couch next to her sighing deeply with a slight smile on his face as Ron once again proclaimed what a smart girl his daughter was for once again messing her diaper. Hermione shook her head and looked over to Fred, raising her brows at the wistful look on his face.

“What?” She asked, nudging him with her elbow.

Fred sighed loudly and leaned closer to her, still keeping his eyes on the scene across the room. “Oh nothing.” Another deep sigh from him made Hermione roll her eyes, knowing this was leading up to something.

“It’s just, I can’t help wonder what our baby would look like.”

Hermione balked at his words and spun her head to look at him, her mouth halfway open. “Excuse me?”

“You know,” Fred said with a shrug. “Little baby Granger-Weasley, all button-nosed cuteness. She’d have my wit, charm and all other good things about me. Your brains could be included in the deal, of course. Though if the baby doesn’t come out with the ability to read, I want a refund.”

Hermione stared at him, not entirely sure how to process this new information. Still looking at his niece, Fred waited a moment more before snorting out a laugh. With a wide grin on his face he turned his head to look at her.

“Merlin Granger, you should see your face.” He snorted with laughter and Hermione punched his arm. Which only served to make him laugh harder. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.

“That’s not funny.” She got out with a shake of her head, wishing she could wipe the smile from his face.

“It’s a bit funny.” Fred said, tilting his head at her.

With a very serious raise of her brows, Hermione tilted her own head at him. “If you had seen what I saw four weeks ago, I think you’d have a very different opinion on having a baby.” She raised her brows at him to indicate her point.

Fred wrinkled his nose and visibly cringed. “I don’t the reminder that you’ve not only seen my sister-in-law’s parts but that you pulled a baby out of them.”

Hermione laughed. “Her parts? Suddenly shy Weasley?”

Fred let a slow grin come over his face, the mischievous look in his eyes indicating he was anything but. Hermione had just started to make a retort about getting his mind out of the gutter when Harry plopped down on the other side of the red head. Her friend reached forward and snagged a hand of jellybeans from the bowl on the coffee table before glancing over at the two of them.

“Hey, guys. What are we talking about?”

Fred raised his brows at Hermione with a knowing smirk. She narrowed her eyes at him before looking over at Harry. “Nothing at all.”

Harry regarded the two of them for a moment but then shrugged, knowing that it likely wasn’t something he wanted to hear. “This is crazy isn’t it? I mean, Ron has a baby. A tiny child is dependent on Ron.” The bewildered tone in his voice made Hermione chuckle. She had had the same thoughts intermittently over the past few weeks, thinking of how utterly helpless their friend could be at times. And now he was responsible for taking care of another human life.

“Well he does have Lavender, and she is anything but not attentive.” Hermione said with a quick glance over to the blond which who was hovering at Mrs. Weasley’s elbow, watching her daughter with a protective gaze. The witch had still been distant with Hermione since the birth, but at least the death glares that she had become accustomed to had ceased. Hermione hadn’t expected an apology from the woman, hadn’t expected anything to change if she was being honest.

With a glance down at her watch, Hermione sighed as she noted the time. Her shifts had switched over the nights a week ago and tonight was her last one in the rotation. She both loved and hated night shifts. It was relaxing being awake at night, sometimes as she sat in the healer’s cubicles, she felt as thought she were the only one awake in the world. She also enjoyed the patient’s that came in at night; normally either very sick or very drunk. But the switching also took time away from the waking hours she had with Fred and the rest of her friends.

Fred saw her look down at the time and raised his brows at her. “Have to leave?”

Hermione met his blue gaze and nodded, “Unfortunately.” She stood to stand and bent to kiss Fred on the cheek, shooting a smile at Harry as she straitened. “I’ll see you both tomorrow morning.”

“Bladgen meeting you?” Harry asked casually, raising his brows at her. Ever the auror, Hermione thought.

“No. We’ve decided the connection between the Weasley’s and St. Mungo’s was secure enough. He’ll meet me at the hospital.” She eyed him for a moment, “You know Harry-“

The look on his face interrupted her speech, his raised brows indicating he knew exactly what she was about to say.

“Not until this guy is caught, Hermione.” Harry said sternly, meeting her eyes directly.

She sighed and grimaced as Fred put his arm about Harry’s shoulders in a brotherly fashion. He sent a grin at Hermione though she could see the annoyance at her underneath his friendly demeanor. “I knew there was a reason we keep you around Potter.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “If you could keep better control of her, I wouldn’t have to intervene.”

Hermione brows shot up and she sent a death glare to the two men on the couch. “Hi, still here.” Harry gave her a nonchalant look and Fred laughed.

She shook her head and turned on her heel to make her way over to Mrs. Weasley and the new parents. After saying her goodbyes and placing a final quick kiss to the baby’s soft cheek, Hermione walked to the fireplace, throwing a quick wistful glance back at the group of Weasley’s, wishing she could stay with them instead of working a nine-hour shift.

The hospital halls were quiet, Hermione observed with relief as she walked away from the Floo connection. The antiseptic smell of the place was oddly comforting to her and she made her way down to the Healer’s changing rooms; changing quickly into her scrubs before making her way back out to the floor.

After completing a quick round with the departing healer, Hermione settled herself into one of the desk chairs at the medi-witch’s station. She enjoyed the people she worked with. Loved being able to talk to people who shared her interests and didn’t wrinkle their nose at the gorier details of the patient’s they had treated.

The night passed slowly, with only two patients’ coming in through the emergency entrance. During night shifts there were only two healers on staff; one to man the admitted patients across the various floors, and another to handle the newly presented patients. Hermione was handling the newly presented cases, finding enjoyment in the puzzles they presented for her to solve.

A noise from the far end of the hallway made Hermione look up from the paperwork she was currently reviewing, attempting to learn about a new antidote discovered by a wizard in America. It hadn’t been a loud noise necessarily, but sharper, like a glass breaking. Having only the two patients on this level, there weren’t many staff present and Hermione tipped back in her chair to try and see where the sound had come from.

When she couldn’t see around the corner leading into the hallway, Hermione sighed as she pushed up from her chair and made her way around the desk to see better. The two medi-witches who had been working with her had watch with curiosity as she made her way towards the entrance of the hallway. Bladgen had been spending his shift in the waiting room portion of the emergency center, monitoring the door.

The long, white hallway was empty as Hermione made her way down it. She popped her head into each of the patient rooms, furrowing her brows further when she found that her two patients were sleeping soundly while the other rooms were unoccupied. She knew that she had heard something. When her search still continued to turn up nothing, Hermione dismissed it, believing that the stress of the recent months was making her go batty.

Back at the desk, Bladgen was waiting for her, watching her intently as she approached. “What is it?” He asked as she reached him.

Hermione sighed and shook her head, sitting back down at the desk that she had just vacated. “Nothing. I just thought I heard something, but nothing was there. I think I’m going crazy.” She ran a hand through her curls and mentally noted that she needed a haircut.

Bladgen was silent, considering her. He was definitely a stoic man, Hermione thought as she glanced up at him. For some reason he reminded her of her father. The thought was painful and Hermione tried to push it away as quickly as it had surfaced. Her father was gone, had been for years now, and she had accepted that.

“You need to take care of yourself with all of this.” Bladgen’s calm voice interrupted her thoughts.

Surprised, Hermione glanced up at him. “I am. I’m careful about where I go. I always have someone with me. I—”

“That’s not what I mean.” Bladgen said, shaking his head as he interrupted her. “It’s not just about physical safety. Situations like this can take a tole mentally if you aren’t careful.”

Hermione raised a brow at him, this was probably the most they had spoken since he was assigned to her three months ago. Other than their almost daily check-ins, he usually did his job silently. “I survived a war.” Hermione said, rubbing at her temples. “I think I can handle this.”

The man’s cool eyes met hers and she once again was reminded of how her father looked when he was about to begin one of his lectures to her.

“I think you are aware that there is a vast difference between actively fighting against an evil force in a war and sitting around being hunted by an individual.”

Hermione didn’t like the word hunted as it automatically made the anxiety she was constantly suppressing rise up. Bladgen must have seen a shift in her face as he tilted his head and nodded at her. “You are being hunted Ms. Granger. You are being careful, I know. But you need to protect your sanity as well as your physical self.”

Hermione swallowed but didn’t say anything. Bladgen nodded to her before turning away and heading back to the waiting room chairs. His words bounced around in her brain and she shook her head trying to calm them. She was being careful, and she thought that with everything that was happening, she was handling it pretty well. Even as she thought about it, a small ping of anxiety rose in her chest. Maybe she wasn’t.

The rest of her shift past uneventfully, both patients’ were sober and discharged by the time her morning came around. There was always a sense of satisfaction leaving the next healer without any patients that they could potentially bother her about later on in the day. Feeling her eyes prick with fatigue, she changed quickly before rejoining Bladgen back in the main hallway.

“I’m heading to the flat for the day.” Hermione told him. It was a habit now to simply alert her security team about her next move that she didn’t even think about it anymore. It felt odd at first to always have to tell someone where she was going, like she was in primary school again and her parents wanted to know how far she was going to bike down the street. Bladgen nodded and followed her to the fireplace at the back of the hospital.

“Don’t forget what I said.” He said simply before seeing her off into the green flames. Their routine was perfected by this time that as long as Hermione was flooing directly to either Grimmauld Place, the flat or the Burrow, she didn’t require an escort. It had taken some convincing for the hospital to allow her to use their floo network as it hadn’t been in operation for some time, the staff usually preferring to appartate.

Hermione made her way directly to the bathroom when she arrived at the twin’s flat. Thankfully both redheads were already downstairs opening the shop for the day. Sighing blissfully as the water ran down her skin, she let both her body and mind relax. The steam rose around her as she scrubbed away the antiseptic scent that seemed to cling to her whenever she came home from the hospital.

Once she was washed and red with the heat of the water, Hermione stepped out onto the rug and wrapped a towel around her body. Pausing for a moment, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, her hair really did need to be cut. The brown curls have grown since her time in Paris, falling past her shoulders now. It was a physical reminder of how much time had gone by. Fingering the ends of the locks Hermione sighed and opened the cupboard next to the sink, digging through the mess to find the scissors.

The snipping sound was calming as she charmed the scissors to cut her hair. It was satisfying to see the brown, wet hair fall to the sink in front of her. When the final snip sounded, Hermione turned this way and that. The resulting curly bob made her smiled, just as it had the first time she had chopped off her long locks after the war. Her already drying hair curled just above the level of her shoulders, framing her jaw.

Satisfied she finally made her way to Fred’s room, rolling her eyes at the neatly made blankets that covered the side of the bed she usually slept on, while Fred’s side was an absolute mess. Pausing, she went instead to his side, pulled the blankets up to her chin and inhaled the comforting cinnamon scent that he had left behind. Snuggling deeper into the covers, she sighed and promptly fell asleep.

***

Her alarm sounded six hours later, making her groan as the sound invaded her dreams. The nightmare she had been having faded like smoke as she blinked her eyes open. Normally she hated waking up to her alarm but given what the black-haired witch in her dreams was about to do to her, she was grateful.

She got ready quickly, hoping to get down to the shop and spend some time with Fred. With the events of the past month, she didn’t feel like they had spent much time together and she missed him. She missed the carefree life she had enjoyed in Paris and when she had first returned, making her wish once again that she could escape to France with Fred. Maybe a vacation, Hermione thought as she pulled the dark blue jeans up over her hips. She dug through his closet, sifting through the clothes that she had gradually moved into his flat over the past year. Finally selecting a deep plum colored shirt, she left the flat and headed down the stairs towards the shop.

It wasn’t as busy as it usually was this late in the afternoon. It would pick up soon though, Hermione reminded herself as she noted the chilly November sky outside the large windows that overlooked Diagon Alley.

She made her way over to the counter where she saw the back of one of the twins. A quick glance down made her grin as she found it was Fred. Approaching him, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and pressed a kiss to the middle of his back. For a moment she felt him stiffen under her touch but then relaxed immediately, placing one of his hands over her on his abdomen.

“Not here Luna.” He said, shifting slightly. “I’m at work.”

Hermione chuckled and gave his side a pinch, pulling back as he turned to face her. The wide grin on his face made her heart flutter a bit. She really did love this fool.

“Sleep well?” He asked as he placed his arms around her shoulders.

She nodded and leaned into him, smelling the same scent that had lulled her to sleep that morning. He was the perfect height for her to burrow her nose into his chest and he chuckled at her actions. The rumbling in his chest made her smile and she raised her face to him.

“You smell good.” She told him, enjoying the raised brow look he gave her.

“That’s because I made George work in the back today.”

Furrowing her brows, she glanced over at the curtain that covered the door to the back room. “What does that have to do with how you smell?”

Fred chuckled and placed a quick kiss to her lips. “He’s working on the stink bombs today.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled back from him. There was someone at the counter and she nodded in their direction. Fred turned back to his customers but when he reached the counter, he glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Hey.”

Hermione raised her brows at him.

“I like your hair.” He said with a grin.

She smirked back at him and ran her hands through what now must be a mess of short curls. Her hair had still been wet when she had fallen asleep, not exactly the greatest recipe for tame curls in the morning. She almost forgot about the haircut she had given herself this morning.

She poked her head into to the back room to say hello to George. The smell that met her nostrils was pungent and she clapped a hand over her mouth and nose. She could see the younger twin on the other side of the room and laughed slightly at the clothespin he had clipped over his nose.

“You know there are spells to keep the scent out.” She said, her muffled voice alerting him to her presence.

George grinned over at her and placed the lid back on the cauldron he was working on. Immediately the green smoke streaming into the room started to fade. “Not for our product. Penetrating stink bombs,” He announced with a look of pride. “No magical source can cover the scent.”

“Ew.” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose under her hand.

He wiggled his brows at her and smirked, “Going to be a great hit with the Hogwarts clientele.”

Poor McGonagall, Hermione thought with a laugh. How terrible it must have been for the Hogwarts’ Headmistress to finally be rid of the troublesome twins only to have their products haunt her halls.

“You should send an apology note to McGonagall.” Hermione said.

George laughed. “Oh, we have. She’s not that receptive.”

Hermione laughed and immediately inhaled the pungent scent. She quickly said goodbye and went back out to the main floor, hoping none of the fumes had clung to her. The warmth of the shop was comforting, and she truly enjoyed being there. It reminded her of childhood in a way, of the excitement she felt the first time she came to Diagon Alley and observed the wonders of the wizarding world.

When she had first been told she was a witch it had taken no time at all for her to accept it. There always felt like there had been something missing in her life, like she was meant for more. Turns out she was.

She paused for a moment in her meandering and glanced over at the counter, watching with fondness as Fred helped another customer check out. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that her life would turn out the way it had. Once again she was overwhelmed with how much she had grown to love Fred, knowing that she could easily spend the rest of her life with him.

She was still lost in her thoughts when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. Hermione blinked and turned towards the sound, finding a woman looking at her from only a few feet. There was a sense of nerves about the girl as she met her eyes.

“Are you.. are you Hermione Granger?” The woman asked, her voice shaky at first as she visibly swallowed.

Hermione furrowed her brows at the woman. She seemed to be about her age, curly brown hair fell past her shoulders and the deep brown eyes met hers. The image was disconcerting and something in Hermione made her pause.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

The girl relaxed fractionally, letting a large sigh of relief as she took another step closer to Hermione. Her eyes were filling with tears as her face shifted again, her lips quivering slightly as she tried to draw in a shaky breath. Growing tense with concern, Hermione took a step towards the woman, glancing quickly over her shoulder at Fred who was still occupied at the counter.

“Are you alright?” Hermione asked, turning back to the woman as the apprehension growing inside of her made her nerves prickle. The woman’s behavior was disconcerting, and Hermione watched with surprise as a single tear slipped down the girl’s face.

The woman swallowed and met her eyes directly. “I’ve a message for you.” Her voice was audibly shaky and quiet as the words fell from her lips. She swayed slightly and reached a tentative hand out in front of her towards Hermione.

Hermione glanced down at the extended hand and inhaled sharply at the sight. The woman’s bare forearm was held upright to her and Hermione felt a sudden rush of lightheadedness as she saw the wounds. Instinctively she took a step forward and raised her eyes to meet the strangers again.

The girl was openinly weeping now, torrents of tears flowed down her cheeks. A sob escaped her throat and her body trembled. Hermione’s eyes flicked across her face and felt her own breath catch in her throat.

“Please.” Hermione said, gripping the woman’s shoulder as her eyes searched her face. She knew exactly who this was, who she had been sent by.

The woman’s eyes met Hermione’s directly and her hand shook as it raised a bloody finger and ran it down Hermione’s cheek. Hermione flinched at the touch but didn’t relax her grip. “He wants you to scream.” The girl breathed out shakily.

As soon as she spoke it was like the torrents of hell broke loose. Hermione watched in horror as the veins across the woman’s forehead stood out against the paleness of her skin. The veins in her eyes grew darker in color as the whites all but disappeared. The girl choked and coughed; a splatter of blood sprayed over the front of Hermione’s shirt. Hermione flinched in surprise, at the spray of liquid and she watched in horror as thin streams of blood seemed to mix with the girl’s tears. The woman’s knees gave way and Hermione took another step forward, trying to support her as she fell.

Panic overwhelmed her senses as Hermione tried to gently lower the girl to the floor. She looked up around the shop in blind panic, not finding anyone close to her among the shelves she had been walking among. “Help!” She yelled out, not waiting to see if anyone heard her before turning back to the girl.

She was choking on the torrent of blood that flowed from her mouth and nose, her body twitched on the ground as her brown eyes fought to find Hermione’s face. The terror in the deep brown eyes was almost painful to Hermione.

Shakily but quickly, Hermione raised her wand, trying to cast the diagnostic charms she had performed a million times. They showed nothing, just as she knew they would. Swearing, her wand dropped to the floor as Hermione placed her hands on either side of the girl’s face, seeing the life start to drain away.

“You’re okay.” Hermione said, keeping her voice firm to make sure that the girl heard it. She was not going to die alone. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.”

She barely heard Fred calling her name or the cracks that sounded off around her, as all of her focus was on the girl in front of her. The woman coughed and spluttered again; her eyes locked on Hermione’s.

“It’s okay.” Hermione said again, smoothing her hand over the girl’s hair.

It was over in seconds; the spark of life slipping form the woman’s warm brown eyes as her face relaxed. The hand that had been raised to Hermione fell limply to the floor, hitting the wood with a soft smacking sound. The choking breaths stopped coming.

Hermione felt her hands start to shake as she watched the girl die, trying to keep them steady as she smoothed them over the still warm skin of the girl’s blood-stained cheek. Her heart raced in her chest and she had to remind herself to breath. The wall finally broke inside of her and she involuntarily let out a sob, feeling her entire body start to shake as fear flooded through her. It was him, she thought dimly, had known it was him since the moment the woman had raised her arm to her. Since the moment she had seen the word carved into the pale flesh.

Her heart was racing, and the sound rushed through her ears, making them ring as she stared into the blank eyes, still open in her last moments of life. Vaguely she felt hands pulling at her waist, pulling her away from the body. She tried to push them away but found that her hands were too weak.

“Hermione please.” The familiar voice broke through the ringing and Hermione dragged her eyes away to look into the panicked blue ones. Fred was kneeling on the ground next to her. She hadn’t even felt him arrive, hadn’t been aware of anything but the girl since the moment she had called out for help.

Harry was there as well, she noted as she let her gaze slip from Fred’s face, feeling numb as she watched her friend kneel down next to the girl.

“She’s gone.” Hermione heard her own voice say, flinching inwardly at the tremor in her words.

Harry looked up to her, his blue eyes filled with panic and anger as they met hers. He nodded briefly and turned his attention back to the girl.

“Hermione.” Fred spoke again next to her and she once again tore her gaze from the girl to look back at him. His expression was tight, his eyes searched her face intently as he raised a hand to cup her cheek. At the contact, Hermione felt her resolve crumble completely and let out another sob.

“She’s gone.” She repeated, the horror of what happened overtook her and she all but fell forward into Fred. His arms wrapped around her protectively and he met Harry’s eyes over the top of her head. She felt small and vulnerable in his arms, her shaking making his heart ache.

Since the moment he had heard her call out for help and looked up to see her collapse with the woman across the shop, he hadn’t felt like his heart had beat. He had dropped the bag of product he had just been holding out to the customer at the counter and had sprinted across to her. It wasn’t until he had seen the amount of blood coming from the girl’s mouth, nose and eyes, saw her resemblance to Hermione that he had realized what happened. He sent an immediate Patronus to Harry, looking around the shop for anything that could have caused this.

A figure outside the shop window caught his eye as he looked wildly around. The person was large, taller than the average wizard and appeared quite muscular under the black cloak that draped over him. He couldn’t see the man’s face but knew immediately who it was. He had just taken the first step to race to the door and stop him when the man disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the faint drizzle that had started to fall on the cobblestones outside.

Rage rushed through Fred for a split second before he turned back to Hermione, watching as she tried to help the girl laying on the ground. He held his breath as he knelt next to her, only glancing up when the pops of apparition sounded as Harry and several other Aurors arrived. They all looked around wildly, their wands held at the ready as they took in the scene of the shop.

Harry had given immediate orders to secure the perimeter before rushing over to Hermione and the girl, watching with the other two as the girl let out her last, bloody breath.

The growing puddle of blood on the store floor caught his eye again as he gripped Hermione tightly in his arms, blinking away the memories of the past few moments. The bright red liquid seemed to ground him as he held Hermione to his chest. Her sobs were quieting but her body still shook against him.

She pushed against his chest suddenly and pulled away from him. Her eyes were swimming with tears and the tracks down her cheek smeared the line of blood that was also present. He furrowed his brows at the sight. Her hands were also tinged with blood as it started to dry darker on her fingers.

“Harry, it’s him.” Hermione said, her voice shaking as she spoke. “It’s him. Harry, her arm.”

Harry met her eyes and nodded. The word had been one of the first things he had seen on his arrival, the implication of it filling him with greater anger. It had been over two months since the first girl and for a while, Harry had tried to convince himself that she would be the only one. But as time went on, he felt the growing sense of apprehension build up inside of him, knowing that someone like this wouldn’t stop.

Hermione looked down at the girl again, pulling away from Fred’s arms as she reached out a shaky hand to slide her fingertips slowly over the woman’s eyes, closing them for the last time.

Fred watched her actions with pain in his chest. Pain, and fear, and pure hatred. The resemblance of the girl to Hermione made the fear even that much more intense, making him want to snatch Hermione away and take her to the far corners of the world to protect her. He hadn’t seen the first girl that had been killed, had only heard the description of her from Hermione. But the similarities between the woman he loved and the bloodstained body laying before him made him clench his fists in fear. He could only too easily picture Hermione in the girl’s place.

He ripped his gaze from the body and looked up to Harry. “I saw him. He was here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit harder to write. It's so difficult to get the images I see in my mind down in print so that you're able to see them as clearly as I can. Hope you all enjoy the turn of events :) The storm's started people, better get ready!


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